Nigerian fintech Mamamoni gets €200,000 to grow agent network.

Mamamoni, a Nigerian fintech social enterprise that works towards empowering women from low-income backgrounds, has secured €200,000 in funding from the Challenge For Youth Employment (CFYE), an initiative funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The CFYE has collaborated with several organizations in Nigeria, such as SheLeads Africa, ReelFruit, Utiva, Stutern, and Co-Creation Hub, and has a portfolio of over 30 businesses in Africa. The funding will be provided over two years, subject to Mamamoni meeting specific milestones, and will be utilized to expand its network of female agents. VFD Microfinance Bank will assist Mamamoni in this endeavor.

Founded in 2014 by Nkem Okocha, Mamamoni initially provided microloans to women entrepreneurs sourced from individuals and investment clubs. However, as the demand for loans increased, the organization started working with financial partners to provide the loans. In 2022, it pivoted to an agency banking model and now has 500 female agents operating in ten states, processing over ₦3 billion in transactions per month.

The decision to go the route of female-only agents was a conscious one, as Mamamoni aims to empower women and help those who face cultural or religious barriers when dealing with male agents. Agency banking has helped tremendously with Nigeria’s financial inclusion efforts, and Mamamoni’s social enterprise model has proven to be an effective way to empower women while providing financial services.

A significant challenge in the agency banking sector has been the cost of providing Point of Sale (PoS) terminals. To address this issue, Mamamoni provides the terminals after the payment of a caution fee. The cost of acquiring PoS terminals has been a significant hindrance to Mamamoni’s expansion plans, but it continues to extend its impact through the Mamamoni Foundation. The foundation provides training for low-income women through in-person programs and the SheSABI app. It also serves as an onboarding platform for Mamamoni’s agents, who have to go through the training programs before starting their journey as mobile banking agents.

Before this funding, Mamamoni had received less than $100,000 from organizations like the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Seedstars, as its social enterprise model is unattractive to most investors. Nevertheless, Mamamoni has impacted more than 50,000 women so far and aims to expand its agent network to over 2,000 women by the end of 2024. It has also launched Herpay, a payments app aimed at women of all social and economic classes, where it intends to provide lower transaction fees and onboard 500,000 women by the end of 2024.

Also read: Utiva, an edtech startup, gains accreditation to operate in 90+ countries