Moniepoint Secures Additional $90 Million in Series C Extension, Cementing Status as Africa’s Leading Profitable Fintech Unicorn

In a significant validation of Africa’s burgeoning digital financial services sector, Moniepoint Inc. has successfully raised an additional $90 million as part of its ongoing Series C funding round, bringing the total capital raised in this round to $200 million. This latest injection of capital, announced on October 21, 2025, comes just one year after the Nigerian fintech giant achieved unicorn status following its initial $110 million Series C raise in October 2024.

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Global Investment Giants Lead Funding Extension

The funding extension was led by Development Partners International (DPI) through its African Development Partners III (ADP III) fund, with LeapFrog Investments serving as an anchor investor. The round attracted an impressive roster of global institutional investors, including the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Visa, Lightrock, Alder Tree Investments, Proparco, Swedfund, and Verod Capital Management.

This diverse investor base underscores the growing confidence among international financial institutions in Africa’s digital economy potential and Moniepoint’s ability to capitalize on it. Farid Fezoua, Global Director for Disruptive Technologies, Services, and Funds at IFC, highlighted the organization’s commitment to supporting Moniepoint’s efforts to increase the adoption of digital payments among micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) retailers in Nigeria—a segment that remains significantly underserved by traditional financial institutions.

“We have seen more interest coming slowly from global investors, especially those that have seen other emerging markets, willing to underwrite the African growth story,” said Ross Strike, Moniepoint’s Senior Vice President, in an interview discussing the funding round. Strike emphasized that the fresh capital would be strategically deployed to strengthen operations in Nigeria, the company’s core market, while simultaneously supporting new market entries in the United Kingdom and Kenya.

Visa’s Strategic Expansion into African Fintech

Visa’s participation in this funding round represents a continuation of the global payments giant’s deliberate strategy to deepen its footprint across Africa’s fintech landscape. The investment in Moniepoint forms part of what analysts have termed the “Visa Triangle”—a strategic positioning that includes previous investments in Interswitch, where Visa acquired a 20% stake for $200 million in 2019, making it Africa’s first fintech unicorn, and Flutterwave, where Visa participated in the company’s Series B round.

Beyond equity investments, Visa has demonstrated its commitment to nurturing Africa’s fintech ecosystem through the launch of a comprehensive fintech accelerator program designed to support the next generation of financial services innovators across the continent. This multi-pronged approach—combining strategic investments, operational partnerships, and ecosystem development initiatives—positions Visa as a crucial enabler of Africa’s digital payments revolution while securing its relevance in markets where mobile money and local payment systems are rapidly evolving.

The significance of Visa’s investment strategy becomes apparent when considering Africa’s unique payment landscape. Unlike mature markets where card-based payments dominate, African markets have leapfrogged traditional payment infrastructure, with mobile money solutions like Kenya’s M-Pesa achieving remarkable penetration. Visa’s investments in companies like Moniepoint, which bridges traditional banking with modern digital payment solutions, represent a pragmatic approach to remaining relevant in this rapidly transforming ecosystem.

From Software Provider to Fintech Powerhouse

Moniepoint’s transformation from a B2B software provider for Nigerian commercial banks to one of Africa’s most successful fintech companies represents a remarkable entrepreneurial journey. Founded in 2015 by CEO Tosin Eniolorunda and CTO Felix Ike, both former Interswitch engineers, the company initially operated under the name TeamApt, focusing on providing payment infrastructure and digital tools for traditional financial institutions.

The pivotal transformation came in 2019 when the company launched Moniepoint, its first consumer-facing product built around an agent banking model. This strategic pivot addressed a critical market gap in Nigeria’s vast informal economy, where millions of small businesses and individuals lacked access to reliable, affordable payment infrastructure. By deploying point-of-sale (POS) terminals through a network of local agents, Moniepoint democratized access to financial services, bringing banking capabilities directly to street corners, markets, and rural communities across Nigeria.

The company’s agent banking network became particularly crucial during Nigeria’s 2023 cash crisis, when a botched currency redesign created severe cash shortages across the country. While traditional banking infrastructure struggled to cope, Moniepoint’s distributed network of agents and reliable technology infrastructure ensured that businesses could continue accepting payments and serving customers, cementing the company’s reputation for resilience and reliability.

Achieving Profitability at Unicorn Scale

What distinguishes Moniepoint from many of its global fintech peers is its achievement of profitability—a rare feat for unicorn-stage companies. According to the company’s statements, Moniepoint is one of the few fintechs globally, and the first in Africa, to achieve profitability at unicorn scale while simultaneously driving financial inclusion. This dual achievement of commercial success and social impact has become a key selling point for investors evaluating opportunities in emerging markets.

The company currently serves more than 10 million personal and business banking customers across Africa and processes transactions worth over $250 billion annually, with monthly transaction volumes exceeding $22 billion. These impressive metrics reflect Moniepoint’s evolution from a payments-focused platform into a comprehensive financial services provider offering business and personal banking, credit facilities, expense management tools, and cross-border payment solutions.

Moniepoint’s revenue model capitalizes on multiple streams including transaction fees from POS terminals and electronic payments, interest income from business loans, interchange fees from card transactions, and subscription revenues from premium business management tools. This diversified revenue base provides resilience against market fluctuations while creating opportunities for cross-selling and customer lifetime value optimization.

Strategic Expansion and International Ambitions

While Moniepoint has not disclosed its precise post-funding valuation, the company confirmed that it now sits comfortably above the $1 billion valuation threshold it initially crossed in 2024. CEO Tosin Eniolorunda articulated the company’s vision in a statement accompanying the funding announcement: “This is a proud day for Moniepoint, and I extend my sincere gratitude to the entire team for their tireless work to make this possible. We founded the Company out of a genuine passion to widen financial inclusion and to help African entrepreneurs realize their potential. That same passion drives the work we do today, and it is heartening to know it is shared by leading, global institutions.”

The fresh capital infusion will support several strategic initiatives aimed at strengthening Moniepoint’s competitive position both within Nigeria and in international markets. In April 2025, the company launched MonieWorld, a digital remittance platform specifically designed for African diaspora communities in the United Kingdom. This service enables UK residents to send money directly to Nigerian bank accounts using MonieWorld accounts, British bank cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay, addressing the substantial remittance corridor between the UK and Nigeria while building a foundation for expanded diaspora banking services.

Beyond remittances, Moniepoint has been methodically establishing physical presence in key markets. In June 2025, the Competition Authority of Kenya approved Moniepoint’s acquisition of a 78% majority stake in Sumac Microfinance Bank, providing the company with an on-the-ground banking license in East Africa. This acquisition represents more than just regulatory compliance; it provides Moniepoint with local infrastructure, established relationships with Kenyan regulators, and a customer base that can be cross-sold additional services from Moniepoint’s product portfolio.

The company’s international expansion strategy reflects careful market selection based on multiple criteria including regulatory environment, market size, existing financial infrastructure gaps, and diaspora community connections. Kenya, as East Africa’s fintech hub with a mature mobile money ecosystem and entrepreneurial culture, represents a natural adjacent market for Moniepoint’s business banking solutions. The UK presence, while focused initially on remittances, positions the company to eventually offer full-service diaspora banking, helping African immigrants manage their finances across borders.

Investor Perspectives on Impact and Returns

The investor commentary accompanying this funding round reveals the dual mandate driving capital allocation into African fintech: the pursuit of commercial returns alongside measurable social impact. Adefolarin Ogunsanya, a partner at Development Partners International, noted Moniepoint’s progress since the initial close of the Series C round, emphasizing the company’s ability to balance growth with profitability—a combination that has proven elusive for many high-growth startups.

Karima Ola, a partner at LeapFrog Investments, articulated the broader economic context that makes Moniepoint’s mission critical: “MSMEs are the heartbeat of African economies—creating the majority of jobs and driving innovation. However, the vast majority have no access to digital banking and formal credit. Moniepoint has become an indispensable partner to MSMEs by empowering them with the digital tools and trust they need to transact, grow, and employ others at scale.”

This perspective highlights a fundamental characteristic of African markets that creates both challenges and opportunities for fintech companies. According to various estimates, approximately 83% of employment across Africa exists within the informal economy, operating largely outside formal banking systems. Traditional financial institutions have historically struggled to serve this segment due to the high costs of customer acquisition, challenges in credit assessment without formal financial histories, and the small transaction sizes that characterize informal business operations.

Moniepoint’s technology-driven approach has effectively addressed these barriers through simplified onboarding processes, alternative data sources for creditworthiness assessment, and a distribution model that leverages local agents familiar with their communities. By formalizing previously unbanked businesses and individuals, Moniepoint isn’t just building a profitable enterprise—it’s contributing to broader economic formalization that enables tax collection, credit access, and participation in the digital economy.

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Competitive Landscape and Market Position

Moniepoint’s success occurs within Nigeria’s highly competitive fintech ecosystem, which includes fellow unicorns Flutterwave, Interswitch, and OPay, along with numerous smaller players targeting various segments of the financial services value chain. What differentiates Moniepoint in this crowded market is its focus on Nigeria’s merchant acquiring and business banking segments, where it has achieved dominant market share by consistently delivering superior reliability, faster settlements, and lower decline rates compared to competitors.

The company’s vertical integration strategy—building proprietary payment infrastructure rather than relying on third-party banking partners—has proven crucial to maintaining its technological edge. This infrastructure investment enables Moniepoint to optimize system uptime, accelerate transaction settlement, and quickly implement new features without depending on external partners’ development cycles. While this approach requires higher upfront capital investment, it creates sustainable competitive advantages that become increasingly difficult for competitors to replicate as Moniepoint’s infrastructure scales.

The company has also been recognized by the Financial Times as one of Africa’s fastest-growing companies for three consecutive years and appeared on CNBC’s list of the world’s top fintech companies in 2025. These accolades reflect not just growth metrics but operational excellence and the company’s ability to scale while maintaining service quality—a challenge that has proven insurmountable for many high-growth startups.

The Broader African Fintech Investment Context

Moniepoint’s successful fundraise occurs against a backdrop of evolving investment dynamics in African technology. While 2022 and 2023 saw a global contraction in venture capital activity that particularly affected emerging markets, Africa’s most proven fintech companies have continued attracting substantial capital. This selective capital allocation reflects investor sophistication—a shift from the earlier pattern of funding numerous early-stage companies toward concentrating resources in companies that have demonstrated product-market fit, operational excellence, and paths to profitability.

The involvement of institutional investors like IFC, along with strategic corporate investors like Visa and Google, signals a maturation of Africa’s fintech ecosystem. These institutions bring not just capital but operational expertise, global networks, and credibility that facilitate expansion into new markets. Their participation also provides validation that reduces perceived risk for other investors, potentially catalyzing additional capital flows into the sector.

Google’s involvement through its Africa Investment Fund represents the company’s broader commitment to supporting digital transformation across the continent. This investment complements Google’s other African initiatives including infrastructure investments in subsea cables, cloud services expansion, and digital skills training programs. For Google, supporting companies like Moniepoint aligns with its strategic interest in expanding internet adoption and digital commerce, which ultimately drives demand for Google’s advertising and cloud services.

Regulatory Environment and Policy Implications

Moniepoint’s growth trajectory has been significantly influenced by Nigeria’s regulatory approach to fintech innovation. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has generally maintained a balanced stance—encouraging innovation while establishing guardrails to protect consumers and maintain financial system stability. Moniepoint holds a microfinance bank license, which enables it to accept deposits, extend credit, and offer a full suite of banking services, providing regulatory clarity that has proven crucial for long-term business planning.

However, the regulatory environment remains dynamic. Recent CBN guidelines regarding agent banking exclusivity and new rules around digital lending have required Moniepoint and its competitors to adapt their business models. The company’s proactive engagement with regulators and its track record of compliance have positioned it favorably as regulatory frameworks continue evolving.

The CBN’s recognition of Moniepoint’s contributions to financial inclusion was formalized in 2022 when the company received the National Inclusive Payment Initiative Award. This recognition reflects the alignment between Moniepoint’s commercial success and government policy objectives around financial inclusion—a synergy that bodes well for the company’s continued growth within its home market.

Technology Infrastructure and Innovation

At the heart of Moniepoint’s success lies its proprietary technology infrastructure, built to handle enormous transaction volumes with minimal downtime. The company has invested heavily in redundant systems, automated processes, and low-latency architecture that enables it to process over one billion transactions monthly. What previously required eight hours to complete is now automated into 10-minute processes, dramatically improving operational efficiency and customer experience.

This technological capability has become particularly valuable in the Nigerian context, where internet infrastructure can be inconsistent and power supply unreliable. Moniepoint’s engineering team has optimized its systems to function effectively even in challenging infrastructure environments, ensuring that merchants can rely on the platform regardless of local conditions. This reliability has become a key competitive differentiator, as merchants consistently report preferring Moniepoint terminals because customers trust they will work when needed.

The company continues investing in product innovation, recently launching integrated payment and bookkeeping solutions for MSMEs that combine transaction processing with basic accounting functionality. This integration addresses a common pain point for small business owners who previously needed to manually reconcile payments across multiple platforms with their accounting systems. By reducing administrative burden, Moniepoint increases its value proposition beyond simple payment processing, deepening customer relationships and creating additional switching costs that protect market share.

Future Outlook and Strategic Priorities

Looking ahead, Moniepoint’s leadership has articulated clear priorities for deploying the fresh capital. CEO Tosin Eniolorunda emphasized the company’s commitment to momentum: “We will not rest on our laurels. The proceeds from our landmark Series C will be deployed judiciously to generate even more momentum as we enter the next chapter of Moniepoint’s story—with financial happiness for Africans everywhere remaining our ultimate goal.”

This vision encompasses several strategic pillars. First, deepening market penetration in Nigeria by expanding the agent network, adding new product features, and increasing credit penetration among existing customers. Second, establishing strong positions in selected international markets, beginning with Kenya and the UK but potentially expanding to other African countries where similar financial inclusion gaps exist. Third, continuing product innovation to address evolving customer needs and defend competitive position against both local competitors and potential entrants from global financial services companies.

The company plans to expand its footprint to at least five African countries over the medium term, selecting markets based on regulatory feasibility, market size, and strategic fit. This controlled expansion approach contrasts with some competitors’ more aggressive geographic strategies, reflecting Moniepoint’s emphasis on achieving profitability in each market before moving to the next.

Implications for Africa’s Digital Economy

Moniepoint’s success carries implications extending well beyond the company itself. The funding round validates Africa’s digital economy potential to global investors who may have previously overlooked opportunities on the continent. It demonstrates that African startups can achieve profitability at scale, addressing concerns about business model viability that have sometimes constrained capital flows.

For Nigeria specifically, Moniepoint’s trajectory contributes to the country’s emergence as an African fintech hub, attracting talent, investment, and complementary businesses that strengthen the broader ecosystem. The company’s ability to retain and attract technical talent—drawing from both local universities and international experienced professionals—helps build sustainable competitive advantages that benefit the broader Nigerian technology sector.

The company’s focus on financial inclusion also contributes to macroeconomic development objectives. By bringing previously unbanked individuals and businesses into the formal financial system, Moniepoint enables better capital allocation, facilitates government service delivery, improves tax collection, and creates opportunities for credit-based economic expansion. While quantifying these spillover effects remains challenging, the directional impact clearly aligns with development priorities across African countries.

Conclusion: A Model for Sustainable African Tech

As Moniepoint closes its $200 million Series C round, the company stands as perhaps the most compelling example of how African technology companies can achieve both commercial success and social impact. By solving real problems for underserved markets, investing in robust infrastructure, maintaining operational discipline, and securing support from world-class investors, Moniepoint has created a blueprint that other African startups are likely to study and emulate.

The involvement of institutional investors like IFC and strategic corporate investors like Visa and Google reflects a maturing ecosystem where capital flows toward proven execution rather than purely potential. For African entrepreneurs, Moniepoint’s journey demonstrates that building sustainable, profitable businesses addressing local needs can attract global capital and create lasting value.

As the company enters its next growth phase, the question shifts from whether African fintech companies can succeed to how quickly they can scale impact across a continent of 1.4 billion people, where hundreds of millions remain excluded from formal financial services. If Moniepoint’s trajectory is any indication, that transformation may arrive faster than many observers expect, powered by entrepreneurial vision, technological innovation, and patient capital willing to support companies that balance profit with purpose.

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By: Montel Kamau

Serrari Financial Analyst

23rd October, 2025