In 2015, Tosin Eniolorunda, the Founder and CEO of TeamApt resigned from his job at Interswitch and set out on the journey of becoming an entrepreneur. According to him, this decision was fueled by the increased desire to make a significant impact in his life and that of others.
TeamApt was eventually launched in November 2015. The startup is focused on building digital solutions and payment infrastructure for individuals, banks, and businesses in Africa and other emerging markets. TeamApt Inc. started out by helping partner banks optimize their core bank back-office operations. By 2017, the company was already servicing 26 financial institutions and processing $160 million monthly.
In 2018, the fintech began working on its own direct consumer and business-facing products and in 2019, the ambitious company finally rolled out its digital products: MoniePoint and Monnify. Moniepoint offered cash withdrawals, deposits, transfers, and other financial services to the unbanked using a mobile app, a merchant network, and Point-of-sale terminals.
Monnify is a payment gateway for businesses to accept payments from customers, either on a recurring basis or one-time. Formal businesses use the payment infrastructure to accept, manage and make payments. While they give smaller-scale businesses accessible, affordable and convenient short-term working capital.
Growth
In 2022, Moniepoint evolved into a business bank – An all-in-one business solution to help Nigeria’s 41 million small businesses grow, with digital payments acceptance channels, access to working capital and business expansion loans, and business management tools such as expense management (business payments cards), accounting and book-keeping solutions to manage their operations. Fully licensed by NDIC, and PCIDSS certified, Moniepoint offers innovative tech solutions that are easy to use and an extensive real-time support network.
Between 2019 and now, TeamApt has risen to become one of Nigeria’s largest business payments and banking platforms, with over 400,000 businesses onboarded and processing a $100 billion annualized run-rate transaction value via its products Moniepoint and Monnify.
Funding
TeamApt has raised a total of $85.5M in funding over 4 rounds. In 2019, the company closed a $5.5 million Series A round from a single VC — Quantum Capital Partners, a firm owned by Zenith Bank billionaire Jim Ovia.
In 2021, TeamApt secured an undisclosed Series B investment. Investors who participated include lead investor Novastar Ventures which controls a $200 million Pan-African fund; Dubai-based Global Ventures, FMO, CDC Group, Endeavor Catalyst, Soma Capital, and Pan-African VC firms Kepple Africa and Oui Capital alongside some local angel investors.
Their latest funding was raised on Aug 10, 2022. TeamApt raised more than $50 million in its most recent funding to expand its credit offerings. According to TechCrunch, TeamApt is not assigning a “letter” to this round. However, it could be classified as a pre-Series C round because, according to sources, the company is still looking to raise a Series C in 2023.
The round was co-led by QED Investors and Novastar Ventures. Other investors, including Lightrock and BII, took part. The company became QED Investors’ first investment in Africa.
Future plans
TeamApt has grown by more than 300% annually since its launch in 2015. However, their plan for expansion in 2023 is on increased speed. You can expect diversity in their credit offerings to meet the needs of their customers and international expansion within the continent in the coming months.
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Sources: Techcrunch, Techpoint, RBI, Alabian Solutions
