Press release

Africa’s Fastest-Growing Fintech – Moniepoint Secures US$110 Million Investment to Scale Digital Payments and Banking Solutions

0
Sponsored by Businesswire

Moniepoint Inc. (“the Company” or “Moniepoint”), Africa’s fastest-growing fintech, announces it has successfully raised US$110 million in equity financing, to power the dreams of millions of businesses and their customers across Africa and the diaspora.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241028604772/en/

Tosin Eniolorunda (left) and Felix Ike (right) (Photo: Business Wire)

Tosin Eniolorunda (left) and Felix Ike (right) (Photo: Business Wire)

Founded in 2015 by Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, Moniepoint (formerly known as TeamApt) has an enviable track record of serving customers across Africa. Initially focused on providing infrastructure and payment solutions for banks and financial institutions, Moniepoint has grown into Nigeria’s leading business banking provider, trusted by millions of businesses. Each month, Moniepoint processes over 800 million transactions, with a monthly total value exceeding US$17 billion—all while operating profitably.

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.

The new capital follows a successful period for Moniepoint building on its profitable business model with major operational and financial milestones. In August 2023, Moniepoint entered the personal banking market through its subsidiary, Moniepoint Microfinance Bank, experienced 2,000% growth in personal finance customers over the past year, and was ranked as Africa’s fastest-growing fintech for the second consecutive year by the Financial Times.

The capital raised will be used to accelerate Moniepoint’s growth across Africa, building an all-in-one, seamlessly integrated platform for African businesses of all sizes. This platform will include services such as digital payments, banking, foreign exchange (FX), credit, and business management tools, making it a one-stop shop for business solutions.

The investment conviction from DPI, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod and Lightrock is testament to the impact Moniepoint is having through digital and financial inclusion and its game changing ability to foster economic activity and development. It also speaks to the unique combination of growth and profitability the business has demonstrated, growing revenue at over 150% CAGR in recent years with industry leading gross profit and EBITDA margins.

Moniepoint’s financial inclusion efforts support initiatives by many African governments to widen access to the formal financial system and drive economic growth – a vital necessity given c. 83% of employment across Africa is in the informal economy. Moniepoint’s positive impact towards financial inclusion was recognised by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2022, when it received the National Inclusive Payment Initiative Award.

Tosin Eniolorunda, Founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint Inc., said:

Our mission is to help our customers solve their challenges by making our platform more innovative, transparent, and secure. The proceeds from this raise will speed up our efforts to drive financial inclusion and support Africa’s entrepreneurial potential. I want to sincerely thank the entire Moniepoint team for making this achievement possible.

“We’ve been encouraged by the diversity and huge swathe of those who have found value in our platform and the services we provide in helping to create financial happiness. But, we’re just getting started, as it is just day one from here.”

Adefolarin Ogunsanya, Partner at Development Partners International, commented:

“We are delighted to lead this investment round in Moniepoint, one of Africa’s most exciting and fastest growing companies. A profitable business led by an excellent leadership team with clear strategic vision, 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.”

In this latest capital raise – DPI, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, and Verod join existing blue-chip investors in Moniepoint such as QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, Lightrock, British International Investment, Global Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, and New Voices Fund.

Danladi Verheijen, Managing Partner at Verod Capital said:

Our investment in Moniepoint aligns with our mission to back high-growth companies that drive both market leadership and transformative social impact. By supporting Moniepoint’s ambitious expansion, we are advancing financial access and unlocking the potential of underserved markets, fostering widespread economic empowerment.”

Also speaking on the fundraise, Ravi Sharma, Partner at Lightrock, noted:

“Tosin and the dedicated team at Moniepoint have achieved something remarkable. They have built one of the most promising fintechs in Africa by creating economic opportunities for others, most notably SME businesses – critical drivers of economic and social progress.

“Their innovative offering which combines digital payments, banking, and business management tools, is transforming the financial landscape for millions of businesses across the continent. All of us at Lightrock are proud to be supporting Moniepoint through this next chapter as they scale their presence and positive impact.

Gbenga Ajayi, Partner and Head of Middle East and Africa at QED Investors added:

“We are delighted to welcome DPI and Google to the Moniepoint journey. We have been very impressed with the execution of the team and strong customer focus over the past few years. The results speak for themselves – Moniepoint has outperformed expectations and it continues to deliver superior products to merchants across Nigeria. We couldn’t be more excited for the company’s next phase of growth.”

Financial Technology Partners acted as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to Moniepoint.

About Moniepoint

Moniepoint Inc. is Africa’s all-in-one financial ecosystem, helping 10 million businesses and individuals access seamless payments, banking, credit, and business management tools since 2019.

As Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer, it powers most of the country’s Point of Sale (POS) transactions. Through its subsidiaries, Moniepoint Inc. processes $17 billion monthly for its customers while operating profitably.

For more information, please visit: https://moniepoint.com/

About Development Partners International

Development Partners International (DPI) is a premier, multi-strategy investment firm that drives growth, value and positive impact in Africa. Founded in 2007, DPI has more than US$3 billion in assets under management and co-investments across three flagship funds, African Development Partners I, II and III.

Targeting high growth, impact-driven, and innovation-led companies, DPI’s ADP funds have completed 32 investments in 25 companies across the continent. Its portfolio companies employ over 60,000 staff, with over 25,000 jobs created during DPI’s investment.

Reflecting its long-standing commitment to gender equity, DPI has a female co-founder and CEO and 50% of the firm are women. As a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and the Operating Principles for Impact Management, DPI promotes high ESG and Impact standards and seeks to contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. For further information, please visit: www.dpi-llp.com.