Nigerian fintech, Moniepoint, has secured a $110 million investment from multiple investors including Google, bringing its valuation to $1 billion and giving it a unicorn status.
The Series C investment was led by Development Partners International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III fund – a premier fund focused on Africa.
Other new investors include Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Verod Capital – a leading African private equity firm. Global impact firm, Lightrock, an existing investor, also participated in the funding round.
According to the company, the capital raised will be used to accelerate Moniepoint’s growth across Africa, building an all-in-one, seamlessly integrated platform for African businesses.
From payment solutions to banking
Founded in 2015 by Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, Moniepoint (formerly known as TeamApt) initially focused on providing infrastructure and payment solutions for banks and financial institutions.
In August 2023, Moniepoint entered the personal banking market and has experienced 2,000% growth in personal finance customers over the past year while growing its revenue at over 150% CAGR in recent years.
Moniepoint says it now processes over 800 million transactions, with a monthly total value exceeding US$17 billion.
Why they invested
Speaking to the rationale for their investment, Adefolarin Ogunsanya, Partner at Development Partners International, noted that Moniepoint has become one of Africa’s most exciting and fastest growing companies.
“Moniepoint is well positioned to continue its impressive growth trajectory while driving financial inclusion for underserved businesses and individuals across Africa. DPI has a long-track record of supporting businesses like Moniepoint to achieve their next stage of scale.
“The company’s combination of innovative technology, fast growth, and positive impact on the continent underpins our conviction in its future success.
“We look forward to working closely with Tosin and his talented team to expand Moniepoint’s customer base by providing businesses and individuals with first-class banking and payments services,” Ogunsanya stated.
What you should know
Nigeria is seen as the fastest-growing fintech market in Africa, driven by its more than 200 million people, many of whom still lack access to financial services like banking.
While Nigerian fintechs have seen growth in investments in the past years to scale and expand their service offerings, investment has slowed this year as African startups are experiencing funding winter.
Moniepoint’s Series C came as the biggest raise by any Nigerian fintech so far this year and it is one of the two biggest fundraisings by any Nigerian startup this year, the second being Moove’s $110 raise in two deals.