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Swedfund announced today its investment of $10 million in Nigerian company Moniepoint to accelerate access to banking and digital payment solutions for Nigeria’s underbanked Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

MSMEs are the backbone of Nigeria’s economy, driving job creation and rural industrialisation, and fostering innovation across multiple sectors. As a key contributor to national development, the growth of this segment is vital, said Swedfund in a statement sent to Financial Nigeria.

“In a country with a large and youthful population, where unemployment often leads individuals to start informal businesses, empowering MSMEs has the potential to shift socio-economic dynamics,” says Helen Hagos, Senior Investment Manager and Lead of Fund Co-Investments at Swedfund. “By facilitating their operations, we can help unlock opportunities for innovation, income growth, and improved livelihoods.”

Moniepoint has over four million business users and plays an important role in enabling the success of MSMEs through tailored and user-friendly financial products and services – both online and offline, and delivered via an extensive local distribution network. This model supports business growth and financial inclusion, not least for women, and thereby stimulates local job creation and income generation, according to Swedfund.

“Beyond expanding employment, our investment aims to enhance job quality through capacity building and the integration of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles – including the promotion of decent work standards. These improvements are anticipated to cascade throughout Moniepoint’s distribution network, further accelerating positive impact,” says Hagos.

Swedfund invests $10 million in equity, alongside one of Africa’s leading Private Equity Firms, DPI, and among other Development Finance Institutions, IFC and Proparco.

Swedfund is Sweden’s development finance institution with the mission to reduce poverty through sustainable investments in developing countries.