Moniepoint’s $200m Sprint vs Lidya’s sudden stop

In the world of African fintech, where startups chase dreams of financial freedom amid economic headwinds, two tales stand out like day and night. On one side, Nigeria’s Moniepoint is sprinting ahead with a fresh $90 million infusion, pushing its Series C total to $200 million and cementing its unicorn status. On the other, digital lender Lidya—once a darling of cross-border lending—has abruptly shut its doors, leaving customers scrambling for trapped funds. These stories aren’t just about money raised or lost; they’re a mirror to the sector’s promise and pitfalls, especially in Nigeria’s tough terrain of naira volatility and regulatory mazes.

Let’s start with the winner in the ring: Moniepoint. Founded in 2015 by Tosin Eniolorunda as TeamApt, this Lagos-based powerhouse has morphed from a simple POS provider into an all-in-one financial suite for SMEs. Its latest funding coup, announced on October 21, 2025, added $90 million to its ongoing Series C, bringing the round’s tally to $200 million. Led by Development Partners International (DPI), the extension drew heavyweights like Visa, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, and LeapFrog Investments. It’s a vote of confidence in Moniepoint’s model, which processes over $17 billion in monthly transactions for more than two million businesses—numbers that scream scale in a market where 40% of SMEs still hustle with cash only.

Rewind the tape on Moniepoint’s funding journey, and it’s a masterclass in steady climbs. The company kicked off with seed rounds totaling around $2.5 million in 2016-2018 from early backers like LoftyInc Capital. Series A in 2021 netted $11 million from Ribbit Capital and Y Combinator, valuing it at about $50 million post-money. Then came the big leap: a $110 million Series C in October 2023, led by QED Investors and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, ballooning valuation to $500 million and earning unicorn horns at $1 billion by early 2024. Total capital raised now tops $256 million across six rounds, with blue-chip names like Alphabet, General Catalyst, and Novastar Ventures in the mix. Each tranche has fueled smart bets: from POS hardware to cloud banking APIs, all profitable since 2022.

What sets Moniepoint apart? It’s the blend of financial smarts and tech wizardry. In expertise, they’ve nailed SME pain points—think instant refunds for failed transactions in 24-48 hours, versus the industry’s slog of weeks. Their platform now bundles payments, loans, payroll, and bookkeeping, slashing admin hassles for traders from Oshodi market to Abuja offices. On innovation, Moniepoint’s edge shines in data-driven tools: AI-powered fraud detection that flags dodgy trades in real-time, and a payments gateway handling 60% of Nigeria’s digital volume without a hitch. A May 2025 study they commissioned showed their ecosystem injecting $5 billion into West Africa’s GDP via faster SME cash flows. “Fintech is Africa’s gateway to financial freedom,” Eniolorunda told IBS Intelligence last year, a line that rings truer now as Moniepoint eyes remittances and virtual cards to lock in loyalty.

Looking ahead, Moniepoint isn’t resting. Official statements pledge the $200 million will turbocharge expansions into Kenya and the UK, plus deeper dives into cross-border payments and embedded finance. Eniolorunda envisions serving 10 million businesses by 2027, with profitability margins hitting 25%. As he put it in a Reuters interview, “We’re building infrastructure that outlasts economic dips.” For investors like Visa’s Rajat Taneja, it’s a no-brainer: “Moniepoint’s network effects are rewriting Africa’s commerce playbook.”

Flip the script to Lidya, and the mood darkens. Launched in 2015 by American expat Tim Jackson alongside co-founders like Olumide Soyombo and Promise Wabo, Lidya aimed to bridge Africa’s credit gap with unsecured loans for SMEs. The idea? Use alternative data—bank statements, trade records—to score borrowers, bypassing collateral woes in places like Lagos’ informal markets. It was a noble pitch: fund growth without the bank bureaucracy that chokes 80% of Nigerian businesses.

Lidya’s ascent was flashy but fleeting. Seed funding hit $500,000 in 2016 from 500 Global and Ventures Platform. Series A in 2018 scooped $3 million from ARM Labs and LoftyInc, valuing it at $15 million. The big splash came in 2020: a $16 million Series B extension led by Endeavor Catalyst and BlueOrchard, pushing total raise to $16.45 million and valuation to $60 million. Investors spanned global names—Omidyar Network, DLM Capital, and Klein Farsheed—betting on Lidya’s tech to disrupt lending in Nigeria and beyond.

Early wins were solid: By 2022, Lidya had disbursed over $100 million in loans to 5,000+ SMEs, boasting a 20% market share in digital credit for exporters. Revenue climbed to $10 million annually by 2023, per filings, with expansions into Ghana in 2021 adding 1,000 clients via localized scoring algorithms. Efficiencies shone too—loan approvals in 48 hours, default rates under 5% thanks to machine learning tweaks. Jackson hyped it in a 2021 TechCrunch chat: “We’re not just lending money; we’re unlocking Africa’s trade potential.”

But cracks widened. By mid-2025, leadership churn hit hard: Jackson and CTO Promise Wabo bolted in July, citing “strategic realignment,” amid whispers of cash crunches. Customers reported frozen funds—millions stuck in repayment limbo—and botched transactions, eroding trust. On October 23, 2025, Lidya’s board dropped the hammer: operations ceased, effective immediately. In a somber email to users, Jackson wrote, “Despite our best efforts, macroeconomic storms proved too fierce. We’re working with regulators to release funds manually—patience, please.” Assets will be liquidated, with payouts prioritized via a trustee.

What sank Lidya? Point to Nigeria’s brutal environment: naira devaluation slashed loan values by 70% since 2023, hiking defaults as borrowers drowned in inflation. Regulatory squeezes from CBN—stricter KYC and cap on digital lending—added compliance costs that ate margins. Infrastructure woes, like erratic power and forex shortages, crippled their API integrations, leading to those failed payouts. As fintech analyst Bosun Tijani noted in a Techpoint op-ed, “Lidya bet big on growth lending in a recession; without buffers, it’s a wipeout.” Investor fallout didn’t help—delayed tranches amid global VC pullback left them exposed.

Lidya’s investors are as follows; Endeavor Catallyst (lead Series B), BlueOrchard, Omidyar Network, 500 Global, Ventures Platform, ARM Labs, DLM Capital, Klein Farsheed

Moniepoint’s shows resilience pays: focus on core payments, profitability first, and adaptive tech. Lidya’s fall warns against overreach without safeguards.

As Eniolorunda reflected post-funding, “Success isn’t avoiding storms—it’s sailing through them stronger.” For Nigeria’s fintech flock, that’s the real lesson: build to endure, not just to dazzle.