Vice-President Kashim Shettima says the Federal Government is committed to supporting financial business innovators across the country and African markets to scale their footprints.
By Ginika Okoye
Vice-President Kashim Shettima says the Federal Government is committed to supporting financial business innovators across the country and African markets to scale their footprints.
Shettima said this at the unveiling of the second edition of the Informal Economy Report 2025 presented by MoniePoint on Friday in Abuja.
The report was inaugurated in collaboration with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN).
The vice-president, represented by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, said President Bola Tinubu’s administration was committed to creating favourable conditions for businesses to thrive.
According to him, the informal economy lies at the heart of Nigeria’s story of resilience, creativity, and enterprise.
He congratulated MoniePoint for their efforts towards the growth of the economy and their impact on small businesses.
”I want to spotlight the remarkable global ambition of Nigeria’s technology firms, particularly MoniePoint, whose growth story continues to inspire confidence in Nigerian innovation.
”With over 10 million active businesses and individuals served, MoniePoint is today Nigeria’s largest business payment platform by volume and the nation’s leading merchant acquirer.
”We are proud that the FinTech community is expanding, not just across Nigeria and Africa, but globally.
”This growing cross-border presence reflects strong investor and consumer confidence in Nigerian innovation,” he said.
The Managing Director, MoniePoint Microfinance Bank, Mr Babatunde Olofin, said the reason for bank’s existence was to create a society where everyone experienced financial happiness and their dreams powered irrespective of status.
Olofin said the report would provide policy makers and ecosystem stakeholders with data and insight that would drive inclusive and evidence-based decisions.
He said the goal of the company was to unleash Nigeria’s full economic potential and ensure that the most vulnerable households were not left behind.
Olofin said this year’s report deepened employment, taxation, savings behaviour and business operations within the informal economy.
”The informal economy report is more than just a study. It is a mirror of Nigeria’s economic reality, especially for millions who make their living outside the formal system,” he said.
Temitola Adekunle-Johnson, the Special Adviser to the President on Job Creation and Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, commended MoniePoint for its impact in the growth of the economy.
Adekunle-Johnson said that MoniePoint had given low interest loans to small businesses which was slightly better than commercial banks.
He appealed to other financial service providers to emulate MoniePoint in their efforts to drive small businesses.
The Director-General of SMEDAN, Mr Charles Odii, said the report sampled no fewer than five million small businesses.
Odii said the country had over 39 million Small and Medium Enterprises, noting that many still remained informal.
”If you ask any of the small business owners, they will tell you the number one reason that prevent them from formalising their businesses is taxes.
”And so am very grateful to President Bola Tinubu for actually setting the tax bill into law,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that MoniePoint MFB also unveiled M – Nigeria’s First Informal Economy AI Chatbot while commemorating and celebrating 10 years of economic impact and service to institutions, businesses, and everyday Nigerians.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)