Fintech lender Moniepoint has announced that it disbursed ₦1 trillion in loans to 70,000 Nigerian businesses during 2025, positioning the startup as one of the leading drivers of SME financing in the country’s informal and formal sectors.
Moniepoint, a major payments and financial services platform, said its approach—as opposed to traditional bank lending—relied on analysing payments data and point-of-sale activity to assess creditworthiness, rather than conventional credit histories and collateral.
The fintech’s model enabled it to extend significant capital to businesses often overlooked by conventional lenders, particularly those in the informal economy that lack traditional credit profiles. Data indicates that businesses supported by Moniepoint saw an average 36 per cent increase in transaction value after accessing credit, suggesting measurable improvements in revenue performance and capacity utilisation.
With an average loan size of approximately ₦14.3 million, Moniepoint’s funding focused on providing meaningful capital for growth rather than micro-scale lending alone. The fintech said this approach helped retailers, wholesalers, service providers and small manufacturers expand inventory, improve logistics, and in some cases adopt digital payments infrastructure that enhances operational efficiency.
Industry observers say Moniepoint’s success reflects a broader trend in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem where fintechs are increasingly stepping in to fill gaps left by traditional banks, particularly in credit access. The innovative use of transaction data to underwrite loans is being closely watched by investors and sector analysts as a scalable model for credit provision in emerging markets.
Access to working capital remains a key constraint for many Nigerian SMEs, according to business groups, which often cite high collateral requirements and risk-averse lending practices by banks as barriers to growth. Moniepoint’s model circumvents some of these challenges, offering tailored financing that can be accessed more quickly and with fewer entry barriers.
As Nigeria’s economy seeks sustained revival, enhanced access to capital for SMEs could have broader implications for employment, innovation, and value-chain development across sectors, particularly in retail, logistics and services.
