Google, through its Africa Investment Fund, has acquired a stake in Moniepoint Incorporated, a financial technology (fintech) firm in Nigeria.
In a statement on Tuesday, Moniepoint announced it has
raised $110 million in equity financing, which Development Partners
International’s African Development Partners (ADP) III fund, Verod Capital, an
African private equity firm and Lightrock, an existing investor also
participated in.
Equity financing, which is the exchange of shares in a
company for capital, allows a firm to raise funds without taking on debt.
With the capital raised, Moniepoint joins the list of
unicorn tech startup in Nigeria, indicating the company’s market valuation has
surpassed $1 billion.
Moniepoint said the Series C funding will be used to finance
and accelerate the expansion of its integrated business banking platform across
Africa and the diaspora.
The fintech firm said the new funding follows a successful
period marked by significant operational and financial achievements, building
on Moniepoint’s profitable business model.
Moniepoint said the capital will be utilised to build an
all-in-one business solutions platform that will include services like digital
payments, banking, foreign exchange (FX), credit, and business management
tools.
“The investment conviction from DPI, Google’s Africa
Investment Fund, Verod and Lightrock is testament to the impact Moniepoint is
having through digital and financial inclusion and its game changing ability to
foster economic activity and development,” the statement reads.
“It also speaks to the unique combination of growth and
profitability the business has demonstrated, growing revenue at over 150% CAGR
in recent years with industry leading gross profit and EBITDA margins.
“Moniepoint’s financial inclusion efforts support
initiatives by many African governments to widen access to the formal financial
system and drive economic growth – a vital necessity given c. 83% of employment
across Africa is in the informal economy. Moniepoint’s positive impact towards
financial inclusion was recognised by the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2022, when
it received the National Inclusive Payment Initiative Award.
“In this latest capital raise – DPI, Google’s Africa
Investment Fund, and Verod join existing blue-chip investors in Moniepoint such
as QED Investors, Novastar Ventures, Lightrock, British International
Investment, Global Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, and New Voices Fund.”
Several startups in Nigeria have joined the unicorn club.
Jumia became the first African startup to gain unicorn
status, achieving a $1 billion valuation In 2016.
Three years later, Interswitch followed in its footsteps
after Visa acquired a 20 percent stake in the company for $200 million.
In 2021, Flutterwave raised $170 million and tripled in
value, reaching a valuation of over $3 billion, while Opay secured about $400
million in Series C funding in August of the same year to achieve a $2 billion
valuation.
Also, in May 2021, Chipper Cash joined the unicorn list when it reached a $2 billion valuation after raising $100 million in Series C funding, followed by an extension round of $150 million.
In October 2021, Andela became a unicorn fintech company
with a $1.5 billion valuation after securing $200 million in Series E funding.
A year later, Esusu reached a valuation of over $1 billion
following a capital raise of $130 million Series B funding.
‘FUNDS RAISED WILL
SPEED UP EFFORTS TO DRIVE FINANCIAL INCLUSION’
Tosin Eniolorunda, founder and group chief executive officer
(CEO) of Moniepoint, said the funds raised will accelerate the company’s
efforts to advance financial inclusion and support Africa’s entrepreneurial
potential.
“Our mission is to help our customers solve their challenges
by making our platform more innovative, transparent, and secure,” Eniolorunda
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.”
Eniolorunda said the company is just getting started.
CULLED: TheCable
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com