In the heart of Ibadan, Oyo State—far from Silicon Valley’s glass towers—a teenage boy once spent his afternoons fixing VCRs and soldering circuit boards in a dusty electronics workshop. That boy, Tosin Eniolorunda, would go on to move billions—over $22 billion in monthly transactions, to be exact—without ever leaving the continent he calls home.

Born in September 1985, Tosin grew up in a modest Nigerian household: his father, Rotimi, was an engineering contractor; his mother, Ajoke, a teacher. As the eldest of three, responsibility came early. So did curiosity. Enrolled in the JETS (Junior Engineers, Technicians and Scientists) Club, he wasn’t just learning science—he was living it.

By age 16, Tosin was apprenticing at an electronics repair shop. By university, he was building engineering projects for classmates—hustling not just for income, but for insight. He graduated from Obafemi Awolowo University in 2007 with a B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering, but his career would soon take a decisive turn toward something far more digital.

The Architect Behind Nigeria’s First POS Software

In 2009, Tosin joined Interswitch, one of Nigeria’s pioneering fintech firms, as a software engineer. Over six years, he rose through the ranks—software manager, unit head, product manager—and led the creation of Nigeria’s first point-of-sale (POS) software. It didn’t just work; it scaled, becoming a backbone of modern payments across the country.

But Tosin wanted more than to maintain systems—he wanted to rebuild them.

Betting on Himself—and Winning Big

In 2015, he did the unthinkable: left Interswitch to start his own company. With no outside capital, he founded TeamApt (now Moniepoint Inc.), relying on personal savings—and at times, borrowing money from his wife just to meet payroll.

At first, TeamApt built software for banks. But a painful lesson came early: a key banking partner renegotiated a revenue-sharing agreement, gutting the company’s bottom line and threatening its future. The pivot was swift and strategic. Instead of selling to banks, Tosin turned directly to Nigeria’s underserved small businesses. The mission: give them the tools to transact, grow, and thrive.

Scaling on the Hardest Level

Building a fintech giant in Africa is like coding with half the keys missing. Tosin’s team had to fight against poor internet access, high data costs, and unreliable infrastructure. They even had to build their own card delivery network—because no one else would.

Meanwhile, talent retention became a daily battle. Competing with foreign firms offering USD salaries and remote work flexibility, Moniepoint had to dig deeper to build a culture worth staying for.

Then came the regulators. Financial compliance in Nigeria is a maze of shifting rules and opaque requirements. But instead of resisting, Tosin leaned in—earning praise from both the Central Bank of Nigeria and international observers like the Financial Times for transparency and innovation.

Rooted Locally, Thinking Globally

Unlike many tech founders groomed in Ivy League corridors or funded by Sand Hill Road, Tosin built Moniepoint from the ground up—in Nigeria, for Nigerians. His vision isn’t to escape Africa’s problems; it’s to solve them.

His north star? Financial inclusion. Tosin believes economic empowerment doesn’t start with billion-dollar IPOs—it starts with a pepper seller in Kano being able to accept digital payments. With a barbershop owner in Ibadan growing his business through access to working capital. With 600,000+ businesses who, thanks to Moniepoint, now move with the velocity of the future.

And he’s not done. Tosin has set his sights on building a world-class financial institution that’s homegrown and globally competitive—a Nigerian fintech champion, not a subsidiary of one.

Mentorship, Advocacy, and the Bigger Picture

As Moniepoint scales across Africa, Tosin has become more than a CEO—he’s a mentor, a policy advocate, a builder of ecosystems. He speaks frequently about the need for regulatory clarity, local investment, and enabling environments for entrepreneurs.

Because he knows that for every Moniepoint success story, there are hundreds of founders still trying to pay salaries out of their pockets. Still building in places where the roads are rough and the odds are long.

Final Thoughts

Tosin Eniolorunda didn’t just create a platform for moving money—he’s creating a blueprint for moving Africa forward. In an age of noise and spectacle, his story stands out for its quiet, data-driven, and resilient innovation.

While others chase unicorn valuations, Tosin is building real value—$22 billion a month at a time.

And he’s doing it not with fanfare, but with focus, and faith in the continent that raised him.