Moniepoint, Africa’s latest unicorn receives funding from Google

Moniepoint, a Nigerian fintech company that processed 5.2 billion transactions in 2023, has raised $110 million in a Series C investment round led by Development Partners International (DPI), according to two people with direct knowledge of the deal.

Verod Capital and Google’s Africa Investment Fund are two more recent investments. The investment round also included participation from previous investor Lightrock, a global impact company.

In the upcoming financing round, the company’s valuation— roughly $400 million in a 2022 investment round in which it raised $50 million—will almost triple. Bloomberg reported at the time that the company was aiming for a $1 billion value, but that was ultimately elusive, according to two investors with knowledge of the matter.

The company provides small stores with point-of-sale equipment, loans to businesses without collateral, and bank accounts for individuals and businesses. Its user population skyrocketed in February 2023, when Nigeria’s central bank attempted a currency exchange, causing widespread cash scarcity.

The fundraising effort by Moniepoint coincides with a general drop in start-up funding across Africa. In the first nine months of 2024, African start-ups raised $ 1.4 billion, a 38% decline from the same time in 2022, according to Africa: the Big Deal.

As investors grow more risk-averse, higher interest rates—particularly in the US—have played a role in this slowdown. Moniepoint will use the additional capital to propel growth throughout the continent, possibly through calculated acquisitions. The first area for this expansion may be Kenya while acquisition talks are already underway.