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Moniepoint disburses $700m, boosts MSME growth through first-time credit

 Moniepoint Incorporated, a financial technology company, has disbursed over 700 million dollars to Nigerian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in 2025, with first-time borrowers recording stronger business growth, its inaugural Impact Report has revealed.

The report, titled ‘Creating Financial Happiness’, released on Thursday in Lagos, shows that three out of every four businesses that obtained loans from Moniepoint in 2025 received formal business credit for the first time.

According to the report, the company used proprietary transaction data to assess borrowers’ cash flow and creditworthiness instead of relying on collateral and extensive documentation, enabling thousands of underserved businesses to access finance.

It stated that businesses that received Moniepoint loans recorded a 36 per cent increase in average transaction value, while enterprises banking with the company employed more than eight million people in 2025.

The report noted that Nigeria’s MSME sector faces an estimated 32.2 billion-dollar funding gap, making access to affordable finance critical to business growth.

It also highlighted increased lending to women-owned businesses, stating that women accounted for 36 per cent of Moniepoint’s loan portfolio in 2025, compared with an industry benchmark of between 15 per cent and 25 per cent.

According to the report, lending to women-owned businesses rose by more than 300 per cent during the year, while 62 per cent of female borrowers received their first formal business loan through the platform.

The report added that women borrowers recorded a default rate 2.5 times lower than their male counterparts, reinforcing the case for a more data-driven lending model.

Beyond lending, the report showed that Moniepoint’s USSD banking service enabled users without smartphones or internet access to carry out transactions worth more than 170  million dollars.

It stated that the company’s point-of-sale terminals operated across all 774 local government areas, facilitating payments for about 100 million people in 2025.

The report also indicated that 83 percent of surveyed users said their quality of life had improved, while 85 per cent expressed greater confidence in achieving their financial goals.

The report also highlighted the company’s expansion into East Africa through the acquisition of Sumac Microfinance Bank in Kenya and the launch of Moniebook, a platform integrating payments, bookkeeping and inventory management for small businesses.

Beyond financial services, the report also outlined Moniepoint’s investments in education, entrepreneurship, technology talent development and financial literacy, as well as its support for government-backed food distribution programmes that reached no fewer than 800,000 people in northern Nigeria.

According to the report, Moniepoint now serves more than 20 million individuals and businesses, processes over 250 billion dollars in annual transaction value, and employs more than 3,300 people across 10 countries.

The company was named among TIME’s 100 Most Influential Companies in 2025 and recognised by the Financial Times as one of Africa’s Fastest-Growing Companies.