…exciting venture for Nigerian market-CEO Endeavor Enterprise

By Gabriel Ewepu

AS private sector companies strategize to boost the Nigerian economy through inclusive business growth in terms of mentoring, creating access to large business platforms, growth and development, an upcoming company, TeamApt joins Endeavor Entrepreneurs at 16th virtual International Selection Panel, ISP, after emerging Endeavor Entrepreneurs Fast-growing financial platform in Africa.

This was made known in a statement signed by Head, Marketing and Communications, Endeavor Nigeria, Joy Mabia, where the Managing Director & CEO, Endeavor Nigeria, Tosin Faniro-Dada, spoke about the prowess of TeamApt’s reinvention of banking and financial services to serve currently underserved populations across Africa.

TeamApt is founded by Tosin Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, and is part of a group of new mobile money operators that have driven the growth of agency banking in Nigeria by ~20X in the past 2 years.

TeamApt’s core product, Moniepoint, is an agency banking solution that enables small businesses to provide basic financial services such as deposits, withdrawals, transfers, and bill payments to their customers. Founded in 2015, TeamApt initially built back-end office operations software and white-labeled solutions for banks before launching Moniepoint in 2019.

Faniro-Dada said: “Tosin and Felix have deep domain expertise, having met and cut their teeth as software developers at Interswitch. They are big thinkers. In a little under 2 years, they have scaled Moniepoint to over 100K agents processing $3.5B monthly.

“There are still too many Nigerians excluded from formal financial services but we are at an interesting inflection point where fintech companies are poised to serve this population.”

At the 16th virtual ISP, panelists from around the world interviewed entrepreneur candidates about their businesses, evaluating them on their potential for high-impact growth, and then deliberated on which candidates should be selected to become Endeavor Entrepreneurs.

Once selected, Endeavor Entrepreneurs gain access to an unparalleled global network of business leaders, entrepreneurs, & investors who volunteer to mentor entrepreneurs as they face challenges with rapid growth.

The ISP is the culmination of a rigorous multi-step selection process to identify high-impact entrepreneurs. These entrepreneurs have demonstrated the potential to leverage Endeavor’s resources and mentorship to create large-scale wealth and jobs. They’re committed to reinvesting their time and money in their local entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Also speaking was the Endeavor Co-Founder and CEO, Linda Rottenberg, who expressed excitement said the TeamApt is welcomed into the Endeavor Network.

“Their business is an exciting venture for the Nigerian market. We look forward to supporting the newest Endeavor Entrepreneurs in their journeys to scale, and welcoming them into our global network!”, Rottenberg said.

 Speaking on their ISP experience and joining the Endeavor network, Tosin Eniolorunda, CEO of TeamApt said, “I believe it’s an exciting time to join the Endeavor network of high impact entrepreneurs, and I’m delighted for the opportunity. Felix and I look forward to accessing the abundance of knowledge and expertise within this network as we continue on our mission to close Africa’s financial inclusion gap.”

TeamApt is the 12th company selected into the global Endeavor network through the regional affiliated office in Nigeria. The two entrepreneurs represent the growing expectation for exceptional entrepreneurs with big ambitions and the ability to execute at scale.

They join Gbenga Agboola & Ife Orioke (Flutterwave), Ngozi Dozie & Chijioke Dozie (Carbon), Etop Ikpe (Autochek), Abasi Ene-Obong (54gene), Tayo Oviosu & Jay Alabraba (Paga), Ekechi Nwokah (Migo), Jasper Graf von Hardenberg & Christian Wessels (Daystar Power), Bukky George (HealthPlus), Obi Ozor & Ife Oyedele (Kobo360), Kene Okwuosa & Moses Babatope (FilmHouse Group) and Onyekachi Izukanne, Michael Ukpong & Ruke Awaritefe (TradeDepot).

Endeavor is the world’s leading community of high-impact entrepreneurs. Founded in 1997, Endeavor is a global organization with a mission to unlock the transformational power of entrepreneurship by selecting, supporting, and investing in the world’s top founders. Today, Endeavor’s network spans nearly 40 countries and supports more than 2,000 entrepreneurs, whose companies generate combined revenues of over $28 billion US, have created more than 3.9 million jobs, and, in 2020, raised over $4 billion US in capital. Endeavor’s unique entrepreneur-first model and network of trust provide a platform for founders to dream big, scale up, and pay it forward to the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Endeavor launched its Nigeria office in 2018 to select and support the best founders of companies at the scale-up and growth stage, who recognise a responsibility to pay it forward and multiply their impact in Nigeria’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. In Nigeria, we aim to select 4-6 companies a year and today there are 24 Endeavor Entrepreneurs who are leading 13 companies in the portfolio.