Moniepoint is spearheading a massive shift in Nigeria’s tech ecosystem with a new N3 billion commitment dedicated to building innovation hubs across three major federal universities. Over the next three years, this investment will establish state-of-the-art facilities at Obafemi Awolowo University, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. The goal is to bridge the gap between academic theory and practical industry demands by training students in advanced fields like software engineering, artificial intelligence, data science, robotics, product development, and entrepreneurship.
The official launch took place at Obafemi Awolowo University, a setting that holds deep personal significance for Moniepoint’s leadership. Reflecting on the initiative, Moniepoint Group Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Tosin Eniolorunda, noted that the foundations of the multi-billion-dollar digital financial platform were laid during his own university days in Nigeria. He emphasized that the initiative is a way of paying that success forward, arguing that the nation’s digital economy requires a high density of localized, world-class talent to truly thrive rather than just relying on raw potential. By spreading these hubs across different geopolitical zones, the company aims to decentralize tech opportunities so that talent development isn’t just concentrated in a single region.
University leadership has welcomed the intervention as a game-changer for higher education. OAU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Adebayo Bamire, expressed immense optimism about the partnership, noting that the hub will drastically expand what students can learn while shifting their mindsets on what they can achieve. Beyond providing physical infrastructure and cutting-edge equipment, the hubs will integrate students into the broader tech ecosystem through direct mentorship, internships, curriculum updates, and hands-on experience with live projects alongside Moniepoint’s active engineering and business teams.
This major rollout aligns with a history of academic investments by Moniepoint’s founders. The company has previously funded a CAD/CAM laboratory at OAU and supported the HatchDev programme at the University of Lagos, which currently trains hundreds of young developers every year.
The launch also drew praise from traditional leadership, with the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, urging the student body to fully embrace the opportunity. The monarch pointed out that Moniepoint itself grew from a simple campus idea into an enterprise now valued at over $2 billion, serving as living proof that global financial giants can be conceptualized and birthed right within Nigerian university walls.
