Afridigest Fintech Review: Moniepoint's M&A moves
Week 34 2023: Aug 20-26
Afridigest is your intelligent guide to Africa’s tech ecosystem. The Fintech Review is a weekly recap of what matters in African fintech.
On to the week’s fintech highlights:
• Three fintech-related fundraises were announced this week.
• News of the week: Nigerian business banking platform Moniepoint is acquiring Kenyan SME-focused digital financial services provider Kopo Kopo. Elsewhere in Kenya, payments juggernaut Cellulant is laying off 20% of its workforce (~400 employees). And in Egypt, publicly traded e-payments firm Fawry announced its plan to turn online payment portal myFawry into a digital bank before the end of the year.
• Companies appearing in today’s Fintech Review: Brij, Chapa, Khava, Cellulant, Fawry, Flutterwave, Moniepoint, LemFi, NALA, & more.
• Executives appearing: AZA Finance’s Nana Yaw Owusu-Banahene, MFS Africa’s Yogo Dubois, Paystack’s Hayley Hopwood, TymeBank’s Coen Jonker, AZA Finance’s Elizabeth Rossiello, Moniepoint’s Ross Strike, Keble’s Emmanuel Oballa, Carbon’s Ngozi Dozie, Tewodros Tassew, & others.
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Week 34 2023: Aug 20-26
Three fintech deals were announced for over $44M in disclosed funding this week.
Full details are available to premium subscribers below the paywall
📰 Thoughts of the WeekOne of the most interesting fintechs in Africa to watch right now is Nigeria's Moniepoint.
In June, the news broke that the company was in advanced M&A discussions in Nigeria and Kenya, with plans to make at least one acquisition before the end of the year.
And this week the Competition Authority of Kenya let the cat out of the bag as it officially approved Moniepoint’s acquisition of Kenyan digital financial services provider Kopo Kopo.
For Moniepoint, the pending acquisition paves the way for its strategic expansion into East Africa — its first market outside of Nigeria.
And I hear that we should expect some more big news from Moniepoint before the year’s out. 👀
For now though, here’s a quick timeline of our coverage of Moniepoint/TeamApt over the years.
Moniepoint reverse timeline
Week 34 2023: News broke of a pending acquisition of Kenya’s Kopo Kopo.
Week 33 2023: The company enters the retail banking space with the launch of its consumer-focused app and debit card.
Week 30 2023: The company formally announced the launch of its Working Capital Loans product.
Week 24 2023: News broke of advanced acquisition talks in Nigeria and Kenya.
Week 22 2023: Ross Strike, former VC investor at British International Investment, was appointed Head of M&A and Investor Relations.
Week 18 2023: The company announced that it processed $43B in Q1.
Week 13 2023: The company was the lead investor in Payday’s $3M seed round.
Week 10 2023: Pawel Swiatek, former Managing Vice President at Capital One, was appointed Chief Operating Officer.
Week 2 2023: The company rebranded to Moniepoint from TeamApt, moved its headquarters to London, and announced reaching an annualized TPV of $170 billion.
Week 32 2022: The company announced a ~$50M round led by QED, with participation from Lightrock, Novastar Ventures, and BII (formerly CDC Group).
Week 5 2022: Lightrock announced that it invested an undisclosed amount in the company.
Week 46 2021: Bloomberg reported that the company “is in the market raising its third round of funding at a value of more than $1 billion.”
Week 42 2021: I highlighted the company’s hybrid digital+analog model in a write-up for The Generalist.
Week 26 2021: The company announced a Series B round led by Novastar Ventures with participation from Global Ventures, FMO, CDC, Kepple Africa Ventures, Soma Capital, and Oui Capital.
Pair with:
How Moniepoint became King - Tobi Amira
Redefining Payments and Banking in Nigeria; the Moniepoint story - Tosin Eniolorunda
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