Swedfund, Sweden’s development finance institution with the mission to reduce poverty through sustainable investments in developing countries, on Tuesday announced a US$10m in Moniepoint, a Nigerian company and Africa’s fastest growing fintech payment solution provider.
The investment, according to a statement by Swedfund is aimed at accelerating access to banking and digital payment solutions, targeting Nigeria’s underbanked Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) which have remained the backbone of the country’s economy.
Nigeria’s MSMEs remain at the forefront of job creation and rural industrialisation, while fostering innovation across multiple sectors, following which the growth of such a key contributor to national development is vital.
In a country with a large and youthful population, where unemployment often leads individuals to start informal businesses, the statement noted that empowering MSMEs has the potential to shift socio-economic dynamics.
By facilitating their operations, according to Helen Hagos, a Senior Investment Manager and Lead of Fund Co-Investments at Swedfund, can help unlock opportunities for innovation, income growth, and improved livelihoods.
With over four million business users, the statement said Moniepoint plays an important role in enabling the success of MSMEs through tailored and user-friendly financial products and services – both online and offline, and delivered via an extensive local distribution network.
This model, it continued, supports business growth and financial inclusion, not least for women, and thereby stimulates local job creation and income generation.
Beyond expanding employment, our investment aims to enhance job quality through capacity building and the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles – including the promotion of decent work standards. These improvements are anticipated to cascade throughout Moniepoint’s distribution network, further accelerating positive impact, Hagos added.
