MTN Seeks Fintech Licences to Enter Nigeria’s Lending Market
Africa’s largest telecoms company is making a bold play for Nigeria’s underserved lending market, and this time it is not just connecting borrowers to lenders, it wants to be the lender itself.
At MTN Group’s capital markets event on Wednesday, Serigne Dioum, CEO of MTN Group Fintech, confirmed that the company is actively pursuing regulatory licences across key African markets that would allow its fintech arm to deploy its own balance sheet in lending directly to customers. Nigeria sits at the centre of those plans.
“We’ve expanded access to credit for more people, but we also want to move further up the lending value chain,” Dioum said. “Where appropriate, we will seek licences that allow us not only to facilitate loans but also to lend directly to customers.”
The MTN Nigeria lending market expansion push comes against a striking backdrop. According to a 2025 report by the National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC), close to 80% of Nigerian micro, small, and medium enterprises have no access to formal credit. A separate Stears report estimates the sector carries a staggering $236 billion funding gap. That is the market MTN wants a bigger piece of.
The problem is not unique to Nigeria. Dioum noted that only 4% to 5% of adults across Africa currently access formal credit, leaving an enormous population underserved by traditional banks and lending institutions.
MTN Group CEO Ralph Mupita confirmed the company is actively seeking additional licences in Nigeria and other markets, though he stopped short of naming them specifically. “Nigeria is a key market in this regard, but the opportunity extends across several of our markets,” he said.
MTN’s fintech division is already one of its fastest-growing businesses. In 2025, the division generated approximately $2.8 billion in revenue, processed more than $500 billion in transaction value, and handled over 23 billion transactions. The company currently counts more than 70 million active MoMo users, over 2 million merchants, and an agent network exceeding 1.4 million people across the continent.
More than one million people already access loans through MTN’s platforms daily, using them for small business needs, inventory purchases, and urgent expenses like healthcare. But there is a fundamental difference between being a loan facilitator and a direct lender, and that is where MTN’s ambitions now point.
The MTN Nigeria lending market expansion is also part of a broader regulatory strategy. In November 2024, MTN Nigeria applied for Payment Solution Service Provider (PSSP) and Payment Terminal Service Provider (PTSP) licences through its fintech subsidiary, MoMo PSB. Mupita confirmed on Wednesday that the licence process is still ongoing. The PSSP licence would allow MoMo PSB to operate as a payment gateway and merchant aggregator, while the PTSP licence would enable it to deploy and manage POS terminals directly, reducing dependence on third-party processors.
In parallel, MTN is also awaiting Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approval for the structural separation of its fintech business in Nigeria, a move already greenlit by shareholders. Mupita acknowledged the complexity of the process. “In Nigeria, the structure is relatively novel, and regulators are carefully assessing it to ensure it is completed in the most tax-efficient manner possible,” he said.
MTN’s long-term bet is not small. The group estimates Africa’s fintech revenue pool could grow as much as 13 times over the next five years, fuelled by digital financial services adoption. With over 90% of transactions on the continent still cash-based, the runway is long. Dioum summed it up plainly: “Together, payments, remittances and lending will be the key drivers of fintech growth over the next five years.”
For Nigeria, one of Africa’s most populous and financially underserved nations, that growth story is about to get a major new player at the lending table.
