A $32.2 billion funding gap is stifling Nigeria’s small businesses, a new Moniepoint report has revealed.
The report released on Thursday said most Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises cannot access bank loans because they lack collateral and proper documentation.
Moniepoint said it is using transaction data to assess creditworthiness instead of physical assets in order to bridge the gap
The company which started as a payment service provider now operates as a full financial ecosystem serving over 20 million businesses and individuals.
It processed more than $250 billion in transactions in 2024.
According to the report, three out of four businesses that received loans from Moniepoint last year accessed formal credit for the first time.
Businesses that received credit recorded a 36 per cent increase in average transaction value.
Besides, enterprises banking with Moniepoint also employed more than 8 million people in 2025.
Besides, the report quoted the company to have said data-driven lending can help more small businesses access finance and contribute to job creation.
The report said women run about one-third of Nigeria’s MSMEs but have long struggled to access bank loans.
According to Moniepoint, its portfolio analysis found that women borrowers default 2.5 times less often than men.
The company said it tripled lending to women-owned businesses in 2025. Women now make up 36 per cent of Moniepoint’s loan book, well above the 15 to 25 per cent industry benchmark.
The report stated that 62 per cent of women entrepreneurs surveyed said a Moniepoint loan was the first formal business credit they had ever received.
The company said its payments infrastructure is extending access to underserved communities.
To service customers without smartphones or reliable internet, Moniepoint’s USSD service turns a basic feature phone into a banking tool.
It also said those without smartphones carried out more than $170 million in transactions by dialling a simple code last year.
Besides, Moniepoint said its POS terminals now operate in all 774 local government areas in Nigeria and enabled payments for 100 million people in 2025.
According to the company, eighty-three per cent of users said their quality of life has improved, and 85 per cent reported increased confidence in achieving their financial goals.
Commenting on the report, Tosin Eniolorunda, Co-Founder and Group CEO of Moniepoint Inc., said a ago, the company begun the journey with a simple but audacious goal — to build financial infrastructure that worked for everyone.
The goal, he said, has crystallised into our mission of creating a world where every African, everywhere, can experience financial happiness.
He added: “This report shows how that vision is taking shape, through the lives and businesses that are improving because they now have access to the right financial tools. For 75% 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 added: “We are already seeing those investments bear fruit, with businesses that accessed our credit recording a 36% increase in average transaction value, and the enterprises we serve now supporting more than eight million jobs. That is what financial happiness means to us, creating opportunities that help people, businesses and communities grow.”
The report also captures Moniepoint’s continued expansion beyond Nigeria. During the year, Moniepoint entered East Africa through the acquisition of Sumac Microfinance Bank in Kenya, extending its model of inclusive financial services to a new market, whilst launching Moniebook, an integrated platform combining payments, bookkeeping and inventory management to help small businesses manage and grow their operations more efficiently.
The report also highlights Moniepoint’s broader contribution to economic and social development through investments in talent, education, entrepreneurship and community development.
It added: “Guided by the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the financial giant has expanded employment pathways through initiatives such as Women in Tech and DreamDevs engineering programmes, while supporting STEM education, financial literacy, women entrepreneurs and underserved children, collectively reaching tens of thousands of beneficiaries.
“Through strategic delivery partnerships, Moniepoint has also supported large-scale government intervention programmes, enabling subsidised food distribution to more than 800,000 people in northern Nigeria.”