Moniepoint attains “unicorn” status
Moniepoint has attained “unicorn” status by securing $110 million from investors, including Google, despite the challenges African start-ups face in securing investments. This is a rare feat considering that African start-ups have not been having much luck in the funding market.
The nine-year-old company’s funding round was led by London-based equity firm, Development Partners International and assisted by Google’s Africa Investment Fund. This gave it a valuation of about $1 billion for the first time.
Moniepoint is a Nigeria-based company; it is one of the top fin-tech companies that deliver Nigerians from the claws of traditional banking. The Chief Executive of Moniepoint, Tosin Olorunda mentioned that the company plans to use the money to expand beyond Nigeria to other countries in Africa.
“The opportunities that exist in Nigeria also exist in multiple countries. They are at different scales and levels of development; some countries are 10 to 15 years behind Nigeria and very few are ahead. We are looking at options in our toolkit and finding which ones would be the best to launch into a country and that’s the work we’re doing right now.” Eniolorunda told the Financial Times.
According to the Financial Times, Moniepoint is one of the fastest-growing companies in Africa. Its fame surged in February 2023 when the Central Bank of Nigeria abruptly changed some of the Nigerian currencies and traditional banks were unable to cater to the needs of Nigerians.
In line with the plan Eniolorunda shared with the Financial Times, The Founder of The Subtext, Osarumen Osamuyi, stated that he expected Moniepoint to use the funds to “fuel expansion across the continent, likely via strategic acquisitions”. So far, Kenya looks like a strategic beginning for the company’s expansion.
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