Few decades ago, no one would have ever thought that fin-tech solutions will be widely accepted. For example, Nigeria today is home to over 250 fintech solutions.
Yes, key stakeholders (banks, telecom companies, and the government), enablers, and funding partners (i.e., universities and research institutions, investors, incubators, technology, and consumers) have made this possible.
According to Frost and Sullivan, Nigeria’s fintech revenue is expected to reach $543.3 million in 2022 from $153.1 million in 2017.
This is so because transactions are increasingly shifting towards mobile with the growing popularity of mobile technology among the population, especially the unbanked. So….
What Is Fintech?
Fintech can be considered as “any creative ideas that improve financial service forms, by proposing technology solutions that could prompt new business models or even new businesses.”
The goal of Fin-tech companies in Nigeria, both old and new, is to improve financial procedures and increase automation in the industry.
We can say the history of Fintech companies in Nigeria starts from when some of the oldest Nigerian banks started utilizing technology at the back-end and front-end of their operations.
In this article, you will be put through the evolution of Fintech investment companies in Nigeria, the top ten fintech companies, and how to start a Fintech company in Nigeria for entrepreneurs who are looking for ideas to start a new business.
Nigerian fin-tech companies are seeing a burst in growth due to advances in technologies in the financial service sector.
List of Top Fintech Companies In Nigeria 2021
| List of Fintech Companies In Nigeria 2021 | |
|---|---|
| Rank | Name |
| #1 | Paystack |
| #2 | Flutter Wave |
| #3 | Paga |
| #4 | Piggy Vest |
| #5 | Interswitch |
| #6 | E-tranzact |
| #7 | Carbon Paylater |
| #8 | Remita |
| #9 | Vogue Pay |
| #10 | Kuda Bank |
Here are some of the top fintech startups in Nigeria that are making financial services accessible to the unbanked population, promoting financial inclusion and enabling seamless payment.
Below are the top 10 leading fin-tech companies as of the time of writing this article.
1 PayStack
PayStack fin-tech payment solution is arguably the leading and ever growing fintech company in Nigeria.
You can receive payments via invoices and creating payment pages, while utilizing Paystack online payment gateway.
Paystack is a payments platform that makes the online payments process consistent for both the consumers and the businesses they are attempting to pay.
PayStack is one of the main Fin-tech companies in Nigeria that enables businesses to complete payments from clients utilizing MasterCard, Visa and Verve cards anywhere on the planet.
2. FlutterWave
Even if you tossed yourself in a hole since birth, you’ve most likely found out about Flutterwave. On the off chance that you haven’t nonetheless, we have you covered.
Flutterwave is a payment startup by Andela co-founder Iyin Aboyeji. Flutter-wave completes payment services from more than 68 online payment gateways in Nigeria.
This includes mobile money and places them under one platform. The service is presently active and can receive and send money in more than 30 African nations.
Flutterwave provides technology, infrastructure and services to allow global merchants, payment service providers, and Pan African banks to acknowledge and process payments on any channel (Web, Mobile, ATM and POS).
They help organizations in Africa go global by smoothening the exchange of funds in 150+ monetary standards.
3. Paga
The goal of Paga was to transfer money without charge, regardless if it is a major piece of the business, an ever-increasing number of features are executed in the application.
Presently, you can pay bills, make bank deposits and even pay in certain stores.
Pagatech launched in Nigeria to profit from the buildup of cash money in the financial industry and to execute financial services for all residents in Africa. The Nigerian banking sector can be difficult to access all over Nigeria.
However, with the dawn of mobile phones and telecoms engineering, extraordinary efforts in achieving a sizable piece of the nation’s population have been made through Paga.
4. PiggyVest
PiggyVest is an online savings platform that empowers savers to put away funds that they would prefer not to withdraw effectively.
They can save as small as $1 per day and afterward limit when they withdraw their savings to explicit set dates of choice.
Dissimilar to a normal bank’s savings account, where you can access the money whenever, PiggyVest enables its users to keep up their savings discipline while building their savings culture, as they save towards something important.
5. Interswitch
Interswitch is an Africa-centered integrated digital payments and commerce company.
It encourages the electronic circulation of money just as the exchange of value among individuals and associations on a convenient and steady basis.
The company started operations in 2002 as a transaction switching and electronic payments processing company.
The vision is to fabricate and manage payment infrastructure just as convey inventive payment products and transaction services all through the African continent.
6. E-Transact
eTranzact, launched in 2003, is a multi-application, multi-network and multi-channel electronic payment platform that supports every significant network; including AMEX, VISA and MasterCard.
eTranzact is one of the Fintech companies in Nigeria designed as a credible option in contrast to all transaction which are right now cash or check based.
The platform capacity is with the end goal that any arrangement driven by customer payment can be automated on the platform.
eTranzact as a Switch processes payment requests from various channels – Web, ATM,POS, mobile-utilizing automated procedures.
The switching platform validates transaction requests subsequent to running security checks on the payment cards.
7. Carbon Paylater
Paylater, now Carbon is one of the best loan apps in Nigeria that gives short loans through its mobile app, making the process paperless and quick as could be.
Their services are now accessible in Nigeria. The excellence of the Paylater app is that it is really simple to utilize, quick, well designed and works properly.
PayLater is a Nigerian lending platform owned by One Finance Limited. Paylater started operation around 2016.
It is one of the platforms where anyone can borrow money online instantly in Nigeria. The truth is, this problem-solving company is filling a huge gap.
The beneficial thing about this platform is that; In contrast to banks where you need to visit and fill loads of forms, PayLater gives you a credit without meeting you up close and personal.
8. Remita
Voted severally as Nigeria’s Software of the Year, Remita is a pace setter for Fintech companies in Nigeria.
They help associations (SMEs, Multinationals, State Governments, Government Agencies, NGOs, Schools and Educational Institutions and Individuals to Receive and Make payments electronically.
Developed by SystemSpecs, Remita is in fact a success story and a pride to Africa. SystemSpecs was established in 1991 by John Obaro.
It was then progressively like a business to business company selling software to organisations.
9. Vogue Pay
VoguePay is an online payments processor that has on its own transformed the payments landscape.
Established in 2012, the startup is accessible to lots of local customers, with a simple and minimal effort platform as its principle selling point.
In its first year, VoguePay acquired 17,000 users, the greater part of whom were from its homeland of Nigeria. One of its greatest selling points was free integration for the merchants.
10. Kuda Bank
Kuda Bank has also made this list of top fin-tech platforms in Nigeria. If bank charges gets on your nerves, Kuda bank is for you.
It’s a Completely Online Bank, No paper, your account can be open in minutes. Its meant to be a digital-only bank that runs predominantly on smartphones.
Yes, you get the opportunity to have a customized Verve of Mastercard ATM card, no atm maintenance fees, no transfer fees to other banks, free deposits, and even more.
11. Lidya
Lidya is the future of finance for small businesses in frontier markets.
Their goal is to help extraordinary entrepreneurs access financing and construct a credit score through their instant loan app.
Launched in 2016, the company is set to close a $4 trillion SME credit gap around the world.
Businesses who are searching for $500 USD to $50,000 in working capital can apply on the web or through their mobile phone and get a choice quickly.
To survey credit risk, Lidya utilizes close to 100 data points to evaluate businesses, manufacture a credit score extraordinary to every business, and dispense loans in 24 hours or less.
12. Okash
Okash is one of the virtual loan apps in Nigeria which is a subsidiary service of OPAY and renders short term loans to individuals either for consumption or business.
Okash personal loan has a very fast loan process after which the applicant will receive funds. It is no doubt one of the best fintech companies in Nigeria.
Okash provides financially under-served Nigerians with quick access to short term loans via their android phones.
Unlike other companies, Okash loan process is approved in minutes once the requirements are met and it such manner, it fills a huge gap in the financial credit market.
How to Start a Fintech Company In Nigeria
To start a fin-tech company in Nigeria, here are quick steps to guide you below:
STEP 1: Identify your Niche
The order of Fintech truly relies upon different conditions.
It might refer to a particular series of start-ups and companies, or it might apply to initiatives empowered by technological innovations that add to the improvement of the financial sector.
There are numerous dimensions in Fintech to consider, here are some of them:
- Fund Movement, or transactions through giving or receiving payments.
- Fund Placement, or the financing of planned or unplanned financial regulations.
- Data Management, to enable improved decision making.
For starting a fintech company in Nigeria, one must be crystal clear of the target market and the problem to be addressed.
Besides choosing a domain, your product should cater for a specific audience, e.g. a country, a state, or a city.
However, it is always better idea to launch your startup in your locality first, then expand to the global market later if required.
STEP 2: Find out the Regulations
Who regulates fintech companies in Nigeria? The banking and finance industries are strictly regulated and for obvious reasons.
The regulations are the reason financial service industries are tough to break into. Numerous laws have been put in place to ensure that these sectors are protected from crime or frauds.
STEP 3: Know Your Edge
The fintech industry is getting populated as the day goes by. Many creative innovations are already underway.
However, a critical entrepreneurial question to ask is if your product/business will be able to offer something unique and solve problems.
STEP 4: Obtain the Required License
The license required relies upon the FinTech industry you plan to concentrate on for example insurance, banking and payment and so on.
The Central Bank of Nigeria as of late presented a licensing regime called Payment Service Providers required by FinTech’s to work in the e-payment space.
Additionally, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) regulates FinTech businesses where the FinTech services being offered by a company includes mobile phones pursuant to the License Framework for Value Added Service (VAS).
STEP 5: Register Your Business
Any individual, local or foreign company wishing to startup a Fintech company in Nigeria must include a separate company with the CAC. The steps for registering a startup company with the CAC is as follows:
- Check for availability of proposed company name with Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and reserve it
The information to be included in an Application form for Registration of a Company (Form CAC 1.1) are:
- Address of the registered office of the company
- Authorized Capital of the Company- the regular authorized share capital for a local company is One Million Naira (N1,000,000).
- Particulars of 2 Directors and Shareholders.
- Statutory Declaration of Compliance with the requirements of CAMA by a Legal Practitioner
The required documents for second stage and completion of the incorporation with CAC include:
- Signed and Stamped Copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association
- Original documents authorizing the incorporation where applicable.
- Photocopy of the information page of the passport or the national identity card of each director or shareholder.