By Rommy Imah
“Financial happiness is not a catchy turn of phrase or a luxury; it is the confidence that comes when a business owner in Onitsha can confirm a payment instantly, when a pharmacist in Lagos can restock life-saving medication through a working capital loan, and when a farmer in Borno can move produce across the country with trust.”
With those words, Tosin Eniolorunda, Co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Moniepoint Inc., captures a vision that extends far beyond banking. It is a philosophy rooted in the belief that financial services should do more than facilitate transactions—they should empower people, unlock opportunities and improve lives.
For decades, financial exclusion has remained one of the biggest obstacles to economic growth in Nigeria. Millions of entrepreneurs have struggled to access affordable credit, while individuals in underserved communities have remained outside the formal financial system due to limited banking infrastructure, poor internet connectivity, and stringent lending requirements.
Moniepoint believes the solution lies not merely in providing financial products, but in creating what it describes as “financial happiness”—a state where individuals and businesses possess the confidence, tools, and opportunities to grow sustainably.
Its 2025 Impact Report presents compelling evidence that this philosophy is rapidly translating into measurable economic transformation across Nigeria.
A Decade of Purpose-Driven Innovation
From its beginnings in 2015 as TeamApt, building financial technology infrastructure for Nigerian banks, Moniepoint has evolved into one of Africa’s fastest-growing financial institutions. Today, the company serves more than 20 million businesses and individuals, while its subsidiaries process approximately $250 billion in annual transactions.
According to Eniolorunda, “Ten years ago, we began this journey with a simple but audacious goal: to build financial infrastructure that worked for everyone… Today, that goal has not wavered or diminished; rather, it has crystallised into a definitive mission… creating a world where every African, everywhere, can experience financial happiness.”
Moniepoint’s evolution reflects more than corporate growth; it demonstrates how technology can become an engine for inclusive development when designed around the realities of African businesses and consumers.
Unlocking Growth Through Credit
Perhaps the most remarkable achievement highlighted in the report is Moniepoint’s aggressive expansion of credit access for Nigerian MSMEs.
During 2025 alone, the company disbursed over $700 million in working capital loans to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises across the country. More significantly, three out of every four merchants who received these loans were accessing formal business credit for the very first time.
This milestone addresses one of Nigeria’s biggest economic constraints. Traditional financial institutions have historically required collateral and extensive documentation that many small businesses simply cannot provide.
“The loan from Moniepoint has helped me scale up my business, increase production and profits. I have been able to buy equipment for my business,” a female merchant said.
Another entrepreneur highlighted how access to financing solved a persistent operational challenge. “I used the loan to get a solar package for my frozen food business. Electricity is unreliable, so it’s helped a lot by preventing storage losses,” he said.
Moniepoint adopted a different approach. By leveraging merchants’ transaction histories on its platform, the company assesses cash flow and business performance instead of relying solely on conventional collateral. The result is a credit system that expands access while maintaining responsible lending.
The impact has been immediate. Businesses receiving Moniepoint loans recorded a 36 per cent increase in average transaction value, while 88 per cent of surveyed merchants reported tangible business growth after accessing financing. Many expanded inventory, invested in equipment, hired additional workers and improved operational efficiency.
Collectively, businesses using the platform employed more than eight million Nigerians during the year, illustrating the wider economic multiplier effect of improved access to finance.
Deepening Financial Inclusion Across Nigeria
Moniepoint’s impact extends well beyond lending. Its nationwide network of POS terminals now operates across all 774 local government areas, enabling merchants and consumers alike to participate confidently in Nigeria’s digital economy.
In 2025, the company’s infrastructure enabled 100 million people to complete digital payment transactions, significantly reducing dependence on cash while improving transaction security and convenience.
Recognising that millions of Nigerians still rely on feature phones, Moniepoint also expanded its USSD banking platform.
The result was remarkable. More than five million Nigerians used the service during 2025—a 500 per cent increase from the previous year—bringing digital financial services to remote communities where internet access remains unreliable.
This deliberate focus on accessibility reflects the company’s conviction that true financial inclusion must reach every segment of society, regardless of geography or digital literacy.
Empowering Women Entrepreneurs
One of the report’s strongest themes is Moniepoint’s commitment to closing Nigeria’s gender financing gap. Women-owned businesses continue to face disproportionate barriers in accessing formal credit despite their enormous contribution to the economy.
Moniepoint’s data-driven lending model removes much of the bias traditionally associated with lending decisions.
The outcome has been impressive. Loan disbursements to women-owned enterprises increased by more than 300 per cent during 2025. Today, 36 per cent of Moniepoint’s loan portfolio supports female-owned businesses—well above the industry benchmark of between 15 and 25 per cent.
Even more encouraging, 62 per cent of surveyed female entrepreneurs disclosed that Moniepoint provided their first formal business loan. By expanding access to finance for women, the company is helping strengthen families, communities and local economies across multiple sectors, including agriculture, hospitality, retail and manufacturing.
Building Better Businesses
Financial services alone do not guarantee business success. Recognising this, Moniepoint expanded beyond banking to provide tools that improve business management.
The launch of Moniebook, described as Nigeria’s first integrated bookkeeping and business management platform, enables entrepreneurs to manage inventory, sales, payments, staff and financial reporting within a single application.
For thousands of business owners previously dependent on manual record-keeping, Moniebook offers greater operational visibility and informed decision-making.
The results are evident. According to the report, 91 per cent of merchants experienced improved business operations, 96 per cent reported enhanced transaction security, while 86 per cent recorded increased earnings after adopting Moniepoint’s solutions.
Helping Nigerians Build Financial Resilience
The report equally demonstrates that Moniepoint’s vision extends beyond enterprise. For millions of individuals, the company’s savings products have become practical tools for building financial discipline.
Its “save-as-you-transact” feature enables users to save automatically with every transaction, while target savings accounts help customers plan for rent, education, emergencies, and business expansion.
Survey findings reveal that three in every five customers reported increased savings after joining the platform. More importantly, these products are helping users transition from informal savings methods to structured financial planning—an important step towards long-term financial stability.
Measuring Success Beyond Financial Metrics
Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of the Impact Report is its insistence that business performance should ultimately be measured by improvements in people’s lives.
The company reports that 83 per cent of users believe their quality of life has improved through Moniepoint’s services, while 85 per cent expressed greater confidence in achieving their financial goals.
These indicators suggest that financial inclusion is producing more than transactional efficiency—it is building confidence, resilience and optimism among millions of Nigerians. For Moniepoint, these outcomes represent the true meaning of financial happiness.
Beyond Business: Driving National Development
The report also highlights extensive corporate social investments that reinforce Moniepoint’s development agenda.
Working with governments, development partners and educational institutions, the company supported subsidised rice distribution to 848,592 beneficiaries, facilitated financial inclusion programmes, trained women in financial literacy and cybersecurity, invested in STEM education, funded innovation challenges, supported university engineering programmes and promoted entrepreneurship among young Nigerians.
These initiatives demonstrate that Moniepoint views economic inclusion as extending beyond banking into education, innovation, youth development and community empowerment.
A Blueprint for Inclusive Growth
Moniepoint’s 2025 Impact Report presents a compelling narrative of what modern financial services can achieve when technology, innovation and purpose converge.
Rather than measuring success solely by transaction volumes or customer acquisition, the company frames its achievements through the lives transformed, businesses strengthened and opportunities created.
Its investments in MSME financing, digital payments, financial inclusion, women entrepreneurship, business management tools and social development collectively point to a broader ambition—to build a financial ecosystem where every Nigerian, regardless of location or economic status, can participate meaningfully in the formal economy.
As Nigeria continues its journey toward a more digital and inclusive economy, Moniepoint’s experience illustrates that sustainable financial innovation is ultimately about people: helping entrepreneurs grow thriving businesses, enabling families to plan confidently for the future, and creating the conditions for shared prosperity.
That, as the report concludes, is the essence of creating financial happiness.