Moniepoint co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer Tosin Eniolorunda has been named to the 2026 TIME100 Next, placing the Nigerian fintech leader among 100 rising figures TIME says are helping define the next generation of leadership.
TIME announced the 2026 list on September 30, bringing together leaders from business, technology, artificial intelligence, politics, science, sports and culture. Eniolorunda features among the business, technology and AI leaders, giving fresh international attention to a Nigerian entrepreneur whose work has centred on financial infrastructure and access.
According to TIME’s official announcement, its editorial team spent months identifying people whose work represents developments shaping the future. The TIME100 Next was launched in 2019 to recognise influence that can emerge early and outside traditional centres of power.
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What the TIME100 Next recognition means
For Eniolorunda, the recognition connects a distinctly Nigerian business story to a wider global conversation about technology and financial inclusion.
TIME Chief Executive Officer Jessica Sibley said the 2026 honourees are pushing boundaries, creating new possibilities and advancing their fields and communities. Eniolorunda joins that group as African technology companies attract greater attention for solving problems often overlooked by conventional financial systems.
The numbers behind Moniepoint help show why the recognition matters. The company says it now serves more than 20 million businesses and individuals. Its point-of-sale network operates across all 774 local government areas, and Moniepoint says its terminals enabled payments for 100 million people in 2025.
Why Eniolorunda’s journey stands out
The TIME100 Next honour follows major milestones in Moniepoint’s growth. Founded in 2015 by Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, the company began as TeamApt, building technology and payment infrastructure for banks before developing into a wider financial platform.
In October 2024, Moniepoint raised $110 million in a Series C funding round led by Development Partners International, with participation from Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital and Lightrock. Reuters reported that the funding pushed the company’s valuation above $1 billion, giving Moniepoint unicorn status and supporting expansion across payments, banking, credit and business management. (Reuters)
Its impact has also moved beyond payment processing. Moniepoint’s 2025 impact report said it disbursed more than $700 million in loans to micro, small and medium enterprises. Three out of four borrowers received formal business credit from the company for the first time, while 62 per cent of surveyed women entrepreneurs said a Moniepoint loan was their first formal business loan.
That broader focus puts Eniolorunda’s achievement in context. The story is not simply about building a successful fintech company. It is about using technology to reduce barriers faced by entrepreneurs who may lack conventional banking records or collateral.
Backstory: From TeamApt to a global spotlight
Eniolorunda’s rise has been shaped by a decade of building around a practical question: how can financial systems work better for the people and businesses driving everyday economic activity?
Moniepoint has evolved from infrastructure for financial institutions into a platform covering payments, credit, banking and business management. The company says its mission is to create financial happiness across Africa by giving businesses and individuals easier access to financial services.
After the TIME announcement, Eniolorunda credited the recognition to the Moniepoint team and the businesses and individuals using its services. He said the honour strengthened his belief that African entrepreneurs can build technology that solves real problems at scale.
His TIME100 Next profile was written by Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. TIME’s official release confirms Elumelu among the guest contributors who wrote tributes for members of the 2026 class.
The recognition is part of a wider run of TIME honours for Moniepoint. Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Felix Ike was named to TIME’s 2026 Executives of the Year list for Tech and Data, while Moniepoint was included in TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies in 2025.
For Nigeria’s technology ecosystem, Eniolorunda’s inclusion is significant because it puts a locally built financial technology story on one of the world’s most recognisable leadership lists. TIME will celebrate the 2026 TIME100 Next honourees at its sixth annual event in New York on October 29, 2026.
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