WHO REALLY OWNS MONIEPOINT? The $290 Million Deal That Sold Nigeria’s Top Fintech To Foreign Interests

While the company, formerly TeamApt – touts the deal as a major vote of confidence, the influx of capital, led by heavyweight institutional investors like Development Partners International (DPI) and LeapFrog Investments, and including global players like Visa, Google’s Africa Investment Fund, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) (Source: Multiple, Oct 2025), raises fundamental questions about who truly controls Africa’s “leading profitable fintech.”

The unprecedented scale of external capital implies a massive, unspoken cost: a significant transfer of power from the founders and local interests to foreign boardrooms.

The narrative is shifting from a local entrepreneur building a pan-African dream to a highly competent CEO appointed by a global consortium.

Industry speculation, fueled by the sheer volume of institutional money now dominating the cap table, alleges that Co-founder and Group CEO Tosin Eniolorunda’s personal equity stake may have been diluted to a non-controlling percentage, a common outcome where founders become figureheads for their international backers, holding minimal control despite remaining the public face (Controversy derived from: African Law & Business, Nov 2025; DPI Partner

Adefolarin Ogunsanya, Oct 2025).

When institutional giants anchor a round of this size, the company’s ultimate financial destiny is often decided far from its Nigerian headquarters.

The founder, in essence, becomes an incentivized steward for foreign capital, undermining the narrative of a fully Nigerian-owned tech success story.

Moniepoint frequently uses its “Made for Your Progress” campaign to declare its commitment to financial inclusion and “powering the dreams” of millions of Nigerians.

However, this rhetoric is being used as a shield against the truth of its ownership:

The audacity of Moniepoint’s “Made for Your Progress” campaign rings hollow: how can a company whose ultimate ownership and controlling decisions reside in the boardrooms of US and European private equity firms genuinely claim to be “powering the dreams” of Nigeria’s people?

Their commitment is not to the progress of the Nigerian economy, but to the return on investment (ROI) demanded by foreign shareholders who now hold the majority stake in the parent entity, Moniepoint Inc.

By positioning Nigerian success stories as mere fuel for their foreign-controlled growth machine, Moniepoint risks betraying the very local entrepreneurs they claim to champion, transforming their powerful campaign slogan into a thinly veiled sales pitch designed to keep Nigerian users generating profits for their non-Nigerian masters.

The controversial funding news is further complicated by signs of internal instability and financial vulnerability outside its core market:

Struggling UK Expansion: Despite claims of “sustained profitability” in Nigeria, recent reports indicate that Moniepoint posted a $1.2 million operating loss tied to its ambitious, rapid expansion into the United Kingdom (Source: Fintech Magazine Africa; Techpoint Africa, Oct 2025).

This international stumble reveals a delicate balancing act in which the core profitable business is leveraged to subsidize risky global ventures demanded by international investors.

Internal Equity Battle: The company’s internal equity practices have been drawn into sharp public controversy. A former top executive is currently locked in a high-profile lawsuit against Moniepoint, alleging the wrongful denial of nearly $1 million in vested stock options (Source: Startup Researcher, Jun 2025).

This legal battle casts a long shadow over the company’s integrity and its commitment to those who helped build the business, the very individuals it credits with its success.

The question for Moniepoint, its customers, and the Nigerian tech ecosystem is unavoidable: If the local founder holds minimal control due to massive dilution, if the company struggles with international expansion, and if its own executives are fighting for their promised equity, what exactly is being celebrated? Is this a victory for African fintech, or a carefully orchestrated asset acquisition by global private equity and institutional funds who now own the overwhelming majority of Nigeria’s most critical payment infrastructure?