The chief executive of Nigerian fintech Moniepoint, Tosin Eniolorunda, has called for the development of a credit layer to be built upon the country's existing digital payment infrastructure. Eniolorunda made the case during a recent public address, arguing that such a move would be a logical and necessary evolution for deepening financial services in Africa's largest economy.

He framed the proposition as a strategic response to the current limitations of the market. "The payment infrastructure in Nigeria is already robust," Eniolorunda said, according to a report by P.M.EXPRESS. "The next logical step is to layer credit on top of it to drive financial inclusion and economic growth." His comments arrive at a time when lending is becoming an increasingly competitive battleground among Nigeria's major fintech players, including Moniepoint and its rivals.

This push into credit represents a significant shift in focus for a company that has built its reputation and scale primarily as a payment service provider. Moniepoint, which processes transactions for hundreds of thousands of businesses across Nigeria, is now positioning itself to leverage the transactional data flowing through its systems to assess creditworthiness. The strategy mirrors a broader trend in African fintech, where companies that initially solved payments are seeking higher-margin revenue streams and deeper customer relationships through lending and other financial products.

The company's capacity to pursue this ambitious expansion is underpinned by its substantial financial backing and rapid growth. According to a separate report from TechTV Network, a pivotal early investment came from Nigerian banking magnate Jim Ovia, who wrote a $5.5 million cheque to the company. That capital injection, described as crucial by company insiders, helped propel Moniepoint on a trajectory that saw it later attain a valuation of $1 billion, cementing its status as a major player in the continent's fintech ecosystem.

Eniolorunda's advocacy for a national credit infrastructure suggests a vision that extends beyond Moniepoint's own product suite. It implies a systemic approach where multiple providers could potentially plug into standardized rails for credit assessment and disbursement, similar to how payment systems operate. Such a development would require close collaboration with financial regulators, including the Central Bank of Nigeria, which has been actively shaping the digital finance landscape through policies on open banking and payments.

The CEO's argument rests on the premise that Nigeria's high mobile money and payment penetration has created a foundation of digital transactional data. This data, if harnessed effectively, could mitigate traditional barriers to lending like the lack of formal credit histories for millions of individuals and small businesses. Success in this area could significantly advance financial inclusion, a key policy goal in a country where a large segment of the adult population remains outside the formal banking system.

However, the path forward is fraught with challenges. Credit risk modeling in a market with volatile economic headwinds remains complex. Furthermore, the "new battleground" of lending, as identified by industry observers, means Moniepoint will face stiff competition from other well-funded fintechs and traditional banks also vying for the same opportunity. The effectiveness and fairness of using alternative data for credit scoring will also be closely scrutinized by consumers and regulators alike.