The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said Nigeria’s financial technology sector remains heavily dependent on foreign investment, warning that reliance on external capital could expose the industry to global market fluctuations, the bank said in its 2025 Fintech Policy Insight Report published on Sunday.
The report provides an overview of developments in the country’s fintech ecosystem and highlights the role of investment flows in shaping growth and resilience.
According to the fintech policy report, equity funding for Nigerian fintech firms fell to about $520 million in 2024, down from approximately $747 million in 2019 when the country accounted for roughly 37 per cent of all African startup investment.
The report said this trend indicates the sector’s continued reliance on external capital inflows.
The document noted that global economic conditions, including higher interest rates in advanced economies, contributed to a slowdown in venture capital funding for fintech in Nigeria.
In discussing the implications of the data, the CBN emphasised the importance of developing domestic funding channels, such as strengthening Nigeria’s capital markets to support fintech growth and reduce currency risk.
The bank said leveraging local investment avenues could help insulate the sector from foreign exchange volatility and international market changes.
The CBN also reported that more than 25 per cent of all electronic transactions in Nigeria are processed through real‑time payment channels, with close to 11 billion transactions handled in 2024, compared with about five billion in 2022.
The report identified the NIBSS Instant Payments (NIP) platform as a widely adopted digital payments infrastructure.
The fintech sector in Nigeria has grown significantly over the past decade, expanding from a small cluster of startups to one of Africa’s most active financial innovation ecosystems, according to the report.
The report said the ecosystem’s growth reflects increased adoption of digital financial services and broader financial inclusion efforts.
The policy document also identified compliance reforms, anti‑money laundering supervision, and consumer protection measures as areas of focus for sustaining investor confidence in the sector.
