Moniepoint Acquires 78% of Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance

The Nigerian business-banking startup and one of the technology giants, Moniepoint Inc., has finished the acquisition of a 78% stake in Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank, capping a multiyear endeavour by the Nigerian fintech to establish a presence in the biggest economy in East Africa.

As executives met for a reception in Nairobi’s Westlands neighbourhood on Thursday, the deal was finalized. It gives Moniepoint a license to take deposits, which is necessary for its credit-led expansion plan into the Eastern African market.

This strategic action also comes only days after Moniepoint acquired Orda Africa, a Nigerian restaurant management software business, and comes following a multi-year attempt to develop a footprint in East Africa. 

Moniepoint is growing steadily to expand its tentacles within Africa and beyond.

The purchase of Sumac is also to enable Moniepoint to get around the Central Bank of Kenya’s (CBK) long-standing ban on new licenses and compete with established players like Safaricom and Equity Group and also to boost Kenya’s economy at large, following the failure of an earlier attempt to enter the market through the payments company Kopo Kopo.

The deal is indicative of a larger change in the African fintech scene from pure-play payments to consolidation and regulated banking. Moniepoint obtains the regulatory framework required to implement its high-velocity lending model for Kenya’s small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by acquiring the majority of a 20-year-old institution.

The company’s goal to create a cross-border ecosystem that encompasses the whole merchant value chain instead of just transaction fees is also indicated by this move.

Moniepoint’s exploration into Kenya comes after it earlier this week acquired Orda, a developer of cloud-based restaurant software. The company intends to export and expand its business-in-a-box approach, which combines working capital, payroll, and inventory management, into a region where regulatory scrutiny of digital lending has intensified.

This will be accomplished by fusing Sumac’s banking infrastructure with Orda’s vertical SaaS capabilities.

Moniepoint, which handled over $294 billion in annualized transaction value in 2025, is probably placing a wager that its knowledge of Nigeria’s disjointed retail market will be useful in Kenya.

Even though Sumac is a tier-three lender, Moniepoint can grow in an area that is becoming more and more dominated by digital-first lending thanks to its current branch network and regulatory position. 

Also, the acquisition gives Moniepoint an edge and an immediate deposit-taking license in Kenya, sidestepping a regulatory freeze. Sumac, which has been a tier-three lender since 2002, brings a branch network and over 43,000 active loan accounts. Moniepoint plans to integrate Orda’s cloud platform with Sumac’s infrastructure to offer SMEs unified payroll, inventory, and working capital tools. The Competition Authority of Kenya approved the deal unconditionally, with all Sumac employees retaining their jobs.

Moniepoint recently achieved unicorn status with a $1 billion valuation after a $110 million Series C in late 2025, backed by Google’s Africa Investment Fund and Visa. The move positions it to compete with regional giants like Safaricom’s M-PESA and Equity Group.