Visa Invests in Nigerian Fintech Unicorn Moniepoint to Drive Growth Across Africa

Moniepoint, Nigeria’s leading fintech unicorn, has secured a strategic investment from global payments giant Visa. This development comes just three months after Moniepoint’s remarkable $110 million Series C funding round, which tripled the company’s valuation, cementing its status as a billion-dollar enterprise. The investment underscores growing confidence in Moniepoint, widely regarded as a trailblazer with significant growth potential.

Driving Financial Inclusion and Business Expansion

Visa’s investment is set to propel Moniepoint’s mission of empowering African businesses with robust banking and payment solutions. Since its founding in 2015, Moniepoint has become a trusted partner for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), offering retail banking and payment services. It has also established itself as a market leader in Nigeria’s agent banking sector, boasting over 300,000 point-of-sale (POS) agents. In 2023 alone, the company processed an astounding 5.2 billion transactions.

The partnership merges Moniepoint’s deep understanding of the African market with Visa’s unparalleled global resources and expertise. Together, they aim to foster financial inclusion and drive digital transformation for SMEs across the continent.

Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint, expressed optimism about the collaboration, stating:

“Visa’s backing is a strong endorsement of our vision to digitize and support African businesses at scale. We aim to deepen financial inclusion, enabling SMEs to access the tools and resources they need to thrive in an increasingly digital economy.”

A Strong Network of Investors

Visa joins an impressive roster of Moniepoint investors, including Development Partners International, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, Lightrock, QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, British International Investment (BII), FMO (the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank), Global Ventures, and Endeavor Catalyst. This diverse pool of backers underscores Moniepoint’s credibility and appeal as a high-impact fintech leader.

Andrew Torre, Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa at Visa, emphasized Moniepoint’s transformative role in the African SME ecosystem:

“Moniepoint has built an impressive platform that directly addresses the needs of Africa’s SMEs, a critical segment in enabling economic development. By making financial services and digital payments more accessible and efficient, Moniepoint is helping transform how businesses operate in Nigeria and beyond. We are excited to support their next phase of growth and innovation.”

Visa’s Growing Influence in African Fintech

Visa’s investment in Moniepoint strengthens its position as a key player in Africa’s fintech ecosystem. The company now holds stakes in Nigeria’s three locally-founded fintech unicorns: Moniepoint, Interswitch, and Flutterwave. In 2019, Visa’s minority stake acquisition helped Interswitch achieve unicorn status. The payments giant also participated in Flutterwave’s $35 million Series B in 2020 and contributed to Paystack’s Series A funding in 2018, prior to its acquisition by Stripe.

With Visa’s strategic backing, Moniepoint is well-positioned to scale its operations, expand its reach, and further its mission of transforming financial services for African businesses. This partnership is a significant milestone not only for Moniepoint but also for the African fintech landscape as a whole.