Tech

Nigeria’s fintech Moniepoint achieves ‘Unicorn’ status after raising $110m from Google, others

Published

2 months ago

October 29, 2024

Nigerian fintech, Moniepoint, has achieved a “Unicorn” status after securing $110m in funding from investors, including Google and London-based private equity firm, Development Partners International.

The term ‘unicorn’ refers to a privately held startup company with a value of over $1 billion.

The startup achieved the feat after raising the funds in a Series C equity funding to accelerate its growth across Africa.

The $110 million 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.

Co-founder and CEO of Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda, who made the announcement on Tuesday, said the new capital follows a successful period for the fintech which is building on its profitable business model with major operational and financial milestones, and will be used to accelerate its growth across Africa, building an all-in-one, seamlessly integrated platform for African businesses of all sizes.

“Our mission is to help our customers solve their challenges by making our platform more innovative, transparent, and secure,” he said.

“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,” the CEO stated in a statement.

Founded as TeamApt in 2015 by Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, Moniepoint is an all-in-one financial ecosystem, helping over 10 million businesses in Nigeria and individuals access seamless payments, banking, credit, and business management tools.

As Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer, it powers most of the country’s point of sale (POS) transactions and through its subsidiaries, processes $17 billion monthly for its customers while operating profitably.

Related Topics:Featured fintech Funding Moniepoint Tech Unicorn

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Tech

Facebook returns to Uganda after 4-year ban

Published

2 days ago

December 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

After four years of being in the cooler as a result of suspension by government, Facebook, now Meta, is making a return to Uganda after prolonged negotiations saw the Ugandan government reverse the ban it placed on the platform since 2021.

The suspension of the social media platform had stemmed from accusations by the government that Facebook was meddling in the country’s political affairs during the 2021 presidential elections which arose after it deleted government-affiliated accounts for allegedly spreading disinformation.

This ban of Facebook has led to widespread disruptions across the nation, affecting not only political discourse but also personal connections and business operations.

But according to reports, with a potential re-launch on the horizon for December 2024, Facebook’s comeback could be a game-changer with approximately 2.5 million Ugandans poised to reconnect on the platform, while the Uganda Revenue Authority stands to gain financially from its revival just as businesses, especially smaller enterprises, stand to benefit from advertising incomes.

Tech

20 African tech-preneurs embark on Korean innovation tour

Published

4 days ago

December 22, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The African Development Bank Group’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab has selected 20 promising tech entrepreneurs from various African technology ventures and enterprise support organisations to embark on a two-week study tour of the Republic of Korea, with the aim of seeking investment and insights from the country’s innovative tech ecosystem.

The selected entrepreneurs are from 133 ventures that participated in last month’s Africa Tech Startup Forum.

The forum which will hold under the auspices of the lab’s “Leveraging the Entrepreneurial and Innovation Success of Korea to Strengthen African Enterprise Support” project, had selected entrepreneurs who pitched the best business models during the week-long virtual market access and acceleration programme preparing, training, and connecting technology ventures with opportunities.

The 20 young tech-preneurs were selected from eight African countries including Nigeria, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa, and Uganda, with the delegates spanning various sectors in the technology space.

While in Korea, the African delegates will pay visits to prestigious institutions such as Global Startup Centre, LG Science Park, the Korea Software Technology Association, and the Global Digital Innovation Network.

Speaking on behalf of the delegates, founder of Kenya-based health technology venture Zuri Health, Uche Ezadinachi said:

“I am excited to go to Korea because the country has made serious technological developments. The country is a technology-driven society, and this tour is an opportunity for me to see how we can bring such technology to Africa.

“We will share experiences with our Korean counterparts; they will learn from us as much as we learn from them,” he added.