Moniepoint Closes New Round Of Funding To Achieve Unicorn Status

Nigerian neobank Moniepoint has secured US$110 million in equity financing to expand its integrated financial platform and overall growth across its continental markets. This latest funding brings Moniepoint’s valuation to over $1 billion, making it Africa’s newest unicorn.

During the company’s 2022 funding cycle when it raised $50 million, its valuation stood at $400 million. With this new valuation, Moniepoint has joined the ‘top-tier’ league of startups such as MNT-Halan, Interswitch, Flutterwave, Chipper, OPay, Wave, and Andela.

The Series C funding round was led by the Development Partners International (DPI), alongside Google’s Africa Investment Fund, Verod Capital, and Lightrock. Moniepoint plans to use the funds to scale seamless digital payments, banking, foreign exchange (FX), and credit facilities.

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

Moniepoint was founded in 2015 by Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, garnering trust from millions of businesses and banking partners over a decade to handle over 800 million transactions monthly.

“Moniepoint is well-positioned to continue its impressive growth trajectory while driving financial inclusion for underserved businesses and individuals across Africa,” Adefolarin Ogunsanya, Partner at Development Partners International, said.

Last year Moniepoint grew its transaction value by over 205 percent. It processed 5.2 billion transactions worth over US$150 billion. The fintech’s role in facilitating financial inclusion saw it bag three awards from two separate events a few days ago in Lagos.

The startup’s growth prospects have not been frictionless. Earlier this year, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) tightened its policies on fintechs and banks, barring the neobank among others from onboarding new customers. Moniepoint was also forced to overrule crypto transactions using its system, possibly locking out valuable transactions.

In Kenya, the fintech has been in talks to acquire Kopo Kopo, a fintech that provides short term loans, after the Competition Authority of Kenya approved the acquisition. In September, Kopo Kopo made several senior leadership changes including appointing a new CEO, a new CFO, a Chief Risk Officer, and a new Chief Technology Officer.