Moniepoint Chief Executive Officer, Tosin Eniolorunda, has shared how a $5.5 million investment from Zenith Bank founder Jim Ovia played a key role in the company’s rise from a struggling startup to a billion-dollar fintech firm.
Eniolorunda explained that the early days of the company were financially difficult, to the extent that he once had to rely on personal support from his wife to pay staff salaries during funding shortages.
According to him, the turning point came when Jim Ovia reviewed Moniepoint’s business proposal and decided to inject $5.5 million in exchange for a 20 percent equity stake. The investment also helped the company shift direction strategically.
He noted that Ovia recognized similarities between Moniepoint and Interswitch and chose to back the startup rather than encourage further fundraising rounds. This support enabled the company to move away from its initial focus on banking software and reposition itself toward providing direct financial services to businesses and individuals.
At a time when many fintech firms were concentrating on consumer payment apps, Moniepoint focused on agency banking and infrastructure for small businesses, despite industry skepticism about the model’s complexity.
The company later expanded its services to include payments, lending, and business management tools, allowing small and medium-sized enterprises to access credit based on transaction activity rather than traditional collateral.
This strategy proved highly effective, especially during the COVID-19 period when digital financial services became essential for business continuity.
Today, Moniepoint has grown into one of Africa’s leading fintech companies, processing large-scale transactions and attracting significant global investment, while continuing to support small businesses across Nigeria’s economy.
The CEO emphasized that the company’s success highlights the value of solving practical, everyday financial challenges rather than focusing only on emerging tech trends.
