Moniepoint is planning to leverage M&A for its next growth stage
A few weeks ago, Moniepoint appointed Ross Strike as its new Head of M&A and Investor Relations. What does this mean for the company?
After Moniepoint led Payday’s $3 million seed round in March 2023, it was rumoured that the company wants to acquire the neobank in a cash and equity deal for under $40 million. Although Moniepoint denied the acquisition move, several reports maintained that it was likely going to happen—we have not heard anything in that regard at the time of this report.
However, recently, Moniepoint CEO, Tosin Eniolorunda announced that Ross Strike is joining the company as the Head of Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) and Investor Relations. "His passion for financial inclusion and supporting businesses aligns with our core values and I can't wait to explore new adventures across the African continent with him!," Eniolorunda tweeted.
Before this role, Ross worked at British International Investment, where he led the DFI’s investment in Moniepoint.
Mayokun Fadeyibi, who led over six M&A at pan-African mobility company Autochek told Bendada.com that "M&A are dependent on the strategy of the founder, you should not dive into it because others are doing it. The question is; “how does it fit in your business?”. As much as possible, ensure that it connects with your growth strategy; either product or location expansion. In looking at an M&A, you also need the right legal structure."
Although Payday's acquisition was a rumour, with Ross' appointment the Nigerian business bank is subtly saying that it will leverage mergers and acquisitions in its next growth phase.
During its rebranding from TeamApt to Moniepoint, the company disclosed its plan to expand into East Africa and North Africa. However, it said that the specific expansion will be dependent on where it has "identified large markets where millions of businesses are underserved".
Just as Autochek has leveraged acquisitions to drive its pan-African expansion, Moniepoint will possibly go on an acquisition spree to drive its expansion into these regions.
"As we expand into new markets and continue to accelerate our growth, Ross will play a vital role in developing and executing our M&A and fundraising strategy," Moniepoint CEO said. "His deep knowledge of our business, gained through his previous involvement with British International Investment, where he led their investment in Moniepoint and served as a board observer, makes him the perfect fit for our ambitious plans."
Recall that in April 2022, Moniepoint evolved into a business banking solution, supported by its microfinance bank licence. "When we started out in 2015, we were primarily providing back office payment infrastructure for banks and needed an apt team, hence the name TeamApt. Since then we have evolved significantly and our flagship business banking solution, Moniepoint, has become our core focus and where we see the future," according to Eniolorunda.
In Q1 2023, Moniepoint processed over a billion transactions, with a total processing value of $43 billion. The company also claims that on average a new Moniepoint terminal gets activated in Nigeria every 30 seconds, surging its POS request by 100%.
Within the quarter in review, the business bank onboarded some of the leading hospitals in Nigeria including Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Federal Medical Centre, Asaba, National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital and Nnamdi Azikiwe University Teaching Hospital.
"With this growth, we were able to onboard more businesses, surpassing the 1 million mark of merchants who trust our products. We also hit a milestone of over 500,000 apps in the hands of business owners," Moniepoint said in a statement seen by Bendada.com.
