Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech unicorn, has announced a strategic investment from Visa, a global leader in digital payments. This development follows Moniepoint’s $110 million Series C funding round just three months ago, which tripled the company’s valuation to over $1 billion. The investment emphasizes growing confidence in Moniepoint as a strong, high-potential player in the African fintech space.
Founded in 2015, Moniepoint provides banking and payment solutions tailored to small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and retail banking. The company has become a leader in Nigeria’s agent banking sector, boasting over 300,000 POS agents and processing an impressive 5.2 billion transactions in 2023. With Visa’s investment, Moniepoint is poised to expand its reach and enhance its offerings for African businesses. “Visa’s backing is a strong endorsement of our vision to digitize and support African businesses at scale,” said Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint. “Our mission is to deepen financial inclusion and empower SMEs with the tools they need to succeed in a digital-first economy.”
This partnership makes use of Moniepoint’s local expertise and innovative business model alongside Visa’s global resources and capabilities. The collaboration is expected to accelerate financial inclusion and foster economic growth across the continent.
Visa’s investment in Moniepoint is part of a broader strategy to support Africa’s fintech ecosystem. “Moniepoint has built an impressive platform that directly addresses the needs of Africa’s SMEs, a critical segment for economic development,” said Andrew Torre, Regional President for Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa at Visa. “By making financial services and digital payments more accessible and efficient, Moniepoint is transforming how businesses operate in Nigeria and beyond. We are excited to support their next phase of growth and innovation.”
Visa’s investment in Moniepoint adds to its existing portfolio of Nigerian fintech unicorns, which includes Interswitch and Flutterwave. In 2019, Interswitch achieved unicorn status following Visa’s acquisition of a minority stake. Visa was also an investor in Flutterwave’s $35 million Series B funding in 2020 and participated in Paystack’s Series A funding round in 2018, prior to Paystack’s acquisition by Stripe.
In addition to Visa, Moniepoint’s investors include prominent players such as 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.
With Visa’s strategic partnership and a large pool of investors, Moniepoint is well-positioned to drive financial inclusion, support African SMEs, and continue transforming the digital payments landscape across the continent.
