Moniepoint Says 75% of MSME Borrowers Were First-Time Formal Credit Users

*Fintech disbursed $700m loans in 2025

Three out of every four Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) that borrowed from Moniepoint last year had never previously accessed formal business credit, highlighting the scale of financial exclusion facing Nigeria’s small businesses despite the rapid growth of digital lending.

The figures, released in the fintech’s inaugural impact report, show that 75 percent of businesses financed by the company received their first-ever formal business loan through the platform, underscoring the role of digital financial services in expanding credit access to underserved enterprises.

MSMEs in Africa’s most populous nation, face an estimated $32.2 billion financing gap, with many unable to obtain loans from commercial banks because of collateral requirements, limited credit histories and inadequate financial records.

Moniepoint said it addresses this challenge by using proprietary transaction data to assess businesses’ cash flow and creditworthiness instead of relying primarily on traditional collateral, enabling more small businesses to qualify for financing.

The firm noted that enterprises that accessed credit through its platform recorded a 36 percent increase in average transaction value, while businesses banking with Moniepoint supported more than eight million jobs in 2025.

The report also highlighted the fintech’s growing support for women-owned businesses. Lending to female entrepreneurs rose by more than 300 percent during the year, with women accounting for 36 percent of Moniepoint’s loan portfolio, above the industry average of between 15 and 25 percent.

According to the report, women borrowers recorded a default rate 2.5 times lower than men, while 62 percent of female entrepreneurs who received Moniepoint loans said it was their first formal business credit.

Beyond lending, Moniepoint said its payments infrastructure continued to expand financial inclusion. Customers using feature phones completed more than $170 million worth of transactions through its USSD service, while its point-of-sale network operated across all 774 local government areas, enabling payments for more than 100 million people.

Speaking on the report, Tosin Eniolorunda, co-founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint, said expanding access to formal finance remains central to the company’s mission.

“For 75 percent of the businesses we lent to this year, ours was the first formal business loan they had ever received. We also significantly expanded lending to women-owned businesses because we know that when African women thrive, entire communities are uplifted,” he said.

The report also highlighted the company’s continued regional expansion.

During the year, the fintech entered East Africa through the acquisition of Sumac Microfinance Bank in Kenya and launched Moniebook, a platform that integrates payments, bookkeeping and inventory management for small businesses.

Moniepoint, which employs more than 3,300 people across 10 countries, said it also expanded investments in digital skills, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through initiatives including Women in Tech and DreamDevs, while supporting government programmes that delivered subsidised food to more than 800,000 people in northern Nigeria.