Moniepoint disbursed more than $700 million in loans to Nigerian Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) over the past year, but the country’s estimated $32.2 billion financing gap remains largely untouched, underscoring the scale of the credit shortage holding back the sector that accounts for most of the country’s jobs.
The fintech disclosed in its 2025 Impact Report that despite extending financing to thousands of businesses, millions of entrepreneurs continue to struggle to access affordable credit because traditional lenders still rely heavily on collateral requirements, lengthy documentation and conventional credit histories.
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The figures illustrate both the rapid rise of fintech lending and the enormity of Nigeria’s financing challenge. MSMEs account for about 86 percent of employment and contribute roughly half of the country’s nominal gross domestic product, yet businesses, particularly those operating in agriculture and retail, remain significantly underserved by formal financial institutions.
Moniepoint said it has sought to bridge the gap by replacing traditional collateral requirements with transaction-based credit assessments, enabling businesses previously excluded from formal finance to obtain working capital. According to the report, three out of every four merchants who received Moniepoint loans were accessing formal business credit for the first time.
The company said access to credit translated into measurable business growth. Businesses that received loans recorded an average 36 percent increase in transaction values, while 88 percent of merchants reported business expansion after accessing financing. More than a quarter, 27 percent, said they hired additional workers, with businesses using Moniepoint’s platform collectively employing more than eight million people during the year.
The report also suggests digital lending is improving financial inclusion beyond access to capital. Ninety-one percent of merchants reported improvements in their business operations after adopting Moniepoint’s services, 96 percent said transactions had become more secure, while 86 percent reported higher earnings. Among individual users, three in every five customers said they had increased their savings through the company’s digital savings products.
The findings come as Nigeria’s informal economy continues to face mounting pressure from inflation and rising operating costs. Drawing from Moniepoint’s Informal Economy Report, the company said 79 percent of informal businesses experienced higher operating costs over the past year, while 42 percent had savings sufficient to survive for only one month.
Yet the sector continues to underpin the economy, contributing more than 60 percent of GDP and accounting for around 90 percent of employment, according to the report.
The report also points to persistent weaknesses in household financial resilience. Citing EFInA’s financial health analysis, Moniepoint noted that only 16 percent of Nigerian adults were considered financially healthy in 2023, down from 28 percent in 2020, while 84 percent reported running out of money at least once during the year.
In a note accompanying the report, Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint co-founder and group chief executive officer, said the company’s mission has expanded beyond building payment infrastructure to creating what it describes as financial happiness for Africans.
“Our mission has evolved into creating financial happiness for every African,” Eniolorunda said.
He described financial happiness as the confidence and peace of mind that comes from knowing that financial systems work when people need them most, adding that reliable financial infrastructure enables traders, farmers and small businesses to operate with greater certainty and confidence.
According to the report, Moniepoint now serves more than 20 million businesses and individuals and processes approximately $250 billion in annual transactions across its ecosystem. The company expanded its offerings during the year with the launch of Moniebook, an integrated bookkeeping and inventory management platform for small businesses, and MonieWorld, a remittance platform connecting Nigerians in the United Kingdom with beneficiaries at home.
Moniepoint’s lending data also points to a significant gender gap in access to finance and an opportunity for lenders. According to the company’s 2025 Impact Report, women entrepreneurs are 2.5 times less likely to default on loans than men, yet they remain underrepresented among borrowers because many lack access to formal financial services.
The report said only 45 percent of Nigerian women have access to financial services, compared with 56 percent of men, despite evidence that women-owned businesses are among the most reliable borrowers.
The fintech said it responded by increasing lending to women-owned businesses by more than 300 percent over the past year, describing the move as both a commercial and development strategy. “When women succeed financially, families prosper, communities grow stronger and economies become more resilient,” the company said in the report, adding that expanding access to finance for female entrepreneurs could unlock significant economic gains while narrowing Nigeria’s persistent gender financing gap.
Beyond its commercial operations, Moniepoint said it expanded its public-sector and social impact programmes during the year. The company supported the federal government’s Rice Intervention Programme by helping distribute subsidised rice payments to 848,592 beneficiaries and partnered with the Kaduna state government to disburse N3 billion to 2,400 beneficiaries under the state’s Ultra-Poor Graduation Programme. It also collaborated with the Office of the National Security Adviser on payment collection for the national fertiliser distribution programme.
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Its corporate social responsibility initiatives also focused on education, technology and financial inclusion. During the year, Moniepoint provided financial literacy and cyber safety training to 200 women and persons living with disabilities, graduated 150 software engineers through a partnership with the University of Lagos, established a design laboratory at Obafemi Awolowo University, and supported 1,000 children with books and educational materials through partnerships with community organisations. The company also continued its Women in Tech programme, which has trained 38 women over the past four years and reached more than 30,000 women through outreach initiatives.
While the report highlights the growing role fintechs are playing in expanding access to finance, it also underscores the limits of private-sector intervention. Moniepoint’s $700 million lending programme represents only a fraction of Nigeria’s estimated $32.2 billion MSME financing gap, suggesting that significantly greater participation from commercial banks, development finance institutions, investors and policymakers will be needed to unlock the full potential of the country’s small business sector.
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