Moniepoint CEO identifies informal sector as Africa's largest untapped growth frontier

Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint's co-founder and group chief executive, argues that African fintech and business leaders are systematically overlooking the continent's informal economy, which generates the bulk of economic activity. The executive contends that companies designing products exclusively for formal-sector customers are missing a transformational opportunity worth billions of dollars.

Africa's biggest business opportunity remains largely unexploited because major financial services firms continue designing products for formal-economy customers while ignoring the informal sector that powers continental economic activity, according to Moniepoint's top executive.

Tosin Eniolorunda, co-founder and group CEO of the Lagos-based fintech giant, has flagged the massive disconnect between where businesses are investing and where Africa's real economic weight sits. The informal sector, which includes street traders, artisans, transporters, and small-scale merchants, generates the majority of employment and gross domestic product across the continent. Yet most major financial services companies treat this market segment as secondary or unprofitable.

For Nigeria specifically, this strategic blindness has material consequences. The informal economy accounts for roughly 65 percent of Nigeria's GDP and employs over 90 percent of the working population. Despite these staggering figures, access to formal financial services remains severely limited for informal-sector workers. Bank lending to small traders and informal businesses remains minimal, forcing entrepreneurs to rely on friends, family, or predatory lending arrangements. Payment systems designed for salaried employees in corporate offices offer little utility to market women, transporters, or construction workers who conduct daily business in cash.

Eniolorunda's observation reflects a broader market reality that has only recently begun shifting. Nigeria's most successful fintech platforms, including Moniepoint itself, have built scaled operations by recognizing what traditional banks overlooked: informal-sector participants have genuine financial needs, reliable income streams, and appetite for services that genuinely solve their problems. Moniepoint's expansion into merchant payments and money transfers has tapped this underserved market with remarkable success, positioning the company as one of Africa's most valuable startups.

The naira's persistent weakness against major foreign currencies creates additional urgency around this opportunity. Informal-sector exporters, particularly in agriculture and handicrafts, face severe headwinds converting naira earnings into dollars for international transactions. Financial infrastructure that could streamline cross-border payments for informal traders remains largely absent. Building payment rails that connect informal Nigerian traders directly to global markets could unlock export growth while reducing pressure on Nigeria's foreign exchange reserves.

For ordinary Nigerians, better financial inclusion in the informal economy means improved access to credit for small business expansion, safer payment mechanisms that reduce cash handling risks, and easier remittance pathways for diaspora support. A trader in Lagos who currently cannot access bank credit could qualify for emergency working capital from fintech lenders with better data on cash flow patterns. Transport workers could access insurance products tailored to their irregular income streams rather than struggling to fit traditional products designed for monthly salary earners.

The pitch Eniolorunda makes to investors and fellow executives carries substantial weight given Moniepoint's track record. The company has achieved this positioning not through chasing high-net-worth individuals or large corporate clients, but by building technology that serves informal-sector merchants at scale. The company's recent valuation surge underscores how profitable serving the underserved can become once infrastructure improves.

As Nigeria's economy faces persistent headwinds from inflation, currency depreciation, and weak growth, unlocking the informal sector's full potential offers a genuine path forward. Companies and policymakers that recognize this shift first will shape how Africa's largest economy develops over the next decade.