Google has acquired a stake in Moniepoint Incorporated via its Africa Investment Fund. The tech giant is among a group of investors which includes Development Partners International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III fund, Verod Capital and Lightrock, that invested a total of $110m in equity financing into the digital payment platform.
While Lightrock is an existing investor in Moniepoint, others are new investors. Financial Technology Partners acted as exclusive financial and strategic advisor to Moniepoint.
Moniepoint in a statement on Tuesday said the funding will allow the company to power the dreams of millions of businesses and their customers across Africa and the diaspora.
With the raised capital, Moniepoint has joined a list of unicorn tech startup in Nigeria, with over $1 billion valuation, Jumia (2016), and Interswitch after Visa acquired a 20 per cent stake in the company for $200 million. Others are Flutterwave, Opay, Chipper Cash, Andela, and Esusu.
Moniepoint, ranked as Africa’s fastest-growing fintech for the second consecutive year by the Financial Times, entered the personal banking market through its subsidiary, Moniepoint Microfinance Bank in August 2023.
Over the past year, the company experienced 2,000 per cent growth in personal finance customers.
According to Moniepoint, the capital raised will be used to accelerate its growth across Africa, building an all-in-one platform for different sizes of business in African. The platform will include services such as digital payments, banking, foreign exchange (FX), credit, and business management tools.
The statement reads, “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.
“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.”
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 a 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.”
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 funding, 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.”
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.
