Paga processes $1.5bn monthly, unfazed by fintech competition — CEO

Tayo Oviosu, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Paga, a pioneering Nigerian fintech company, has said rising competition in the country’s financial technology sector is not a threat to the business, describing it as a sign of an expanding market.

Oviosu spoke on Wednesday at Moonshot 2026 by Tech Cabal, a technology conference holding at the National Theatre in Lagos, where he discussed the growing fintech ecosystem and Paga’s role in providing infrastructure for other businesses.

Responding to concerns about the increasing number of fintech companies operating in Nigeria, Oviosu told PUNCH Online that competition encouraged innovation and reflected the size of the opportunities available in the market.

“No, it’s not ( a threat). Competition is great. It keeps us on our toes. But it’s also showing that the market is expanding. And the Nigeria market is a very big market,” he said.

According to Oviosu, technology companies can address different needs within the market rather than viewing one another solely as competitors.

He explained that businesses could focus on specific areas of the financial services industry, creating room for multiple players to grow.

Oviosu also highlighted Paga’s role in supporting other businesses through its technology infrastructure, which helps companies develop and launch services without having to build every component themselves.

He said more than 400 fintech and technology companies currently use Paga’s infrastructure, with the platform processing more than `$1.5bn in transactions monthly.

“Over 400 fintechs or tech companies are using our infrastructure today. And processing over 1.5 billion dollars of transactions every month,” he said.

He added that access to capital remained a major challenge for businesses seeking to expand, although he noted that developments in Nigeria’s capital markets offered some encouragement.

“The biggest challenge is raising capital to be able to help you scale. And the capital markets in Nigeria are deepening. So that’s good. But that’s the biggest challenge,” he said.

Also speaking at the conference, PiggyVest co-founder and Chief Operating Officer, Odunayo Eweniyi, discussed the opportunities and challenges Nigerian businesses encounter when expanding into international markets, particularly the United Kingdom.

Eweniyi said the growing Nigerian community in the UK had helped founders establish professional relationships, find advice and build networks while exploring opportunities abroad.

She said the similarities between the Nigerian and UK business environments, particularly the increasing number of Nigerians attending conferences and founder meet-ups in the UK, had made it easier to find people who understood their experiences.

“It’s not the same by any stretch of the imagination but it’s not as different as you think just because there is an increasing number of Nigerians in the UK and a lot now when you go to conferences there, when you go to founder meetups there, you are more likely interested in going to people that look like you than you are not,” she said.

According to her, these connections offered access to information, advice and a sense of community, helping founders navigate a new business environment.

She explained that PiggyVest had benefited from relationships with other founders and professionals, including opportunities to secure introductions and begin conversations about expansion.

Eweniyi said being able to establish relationships in an environment where founders felt comfortable could make entering a new market easier.

However, she stressed that familiarity and community connections should not replace sound business considerations when choosing an expansion destination.

“But then again to as a founder please don’t forget it’s not really about the community or about the it’s about the business. So it remains and will continue to remain a business decision where to expand into but from my vantage point as a co-founder of PiggyVest trying to serve young Nigerians here and abroad it has been a huge help,” she said.

The conference also featured a session titled “Health Infrastructure Is the Next Frontier, but Who Is Building It?”, moderated by Anita Eboegbe, Chief Operating Officer of Big Cabal Media, the parent company of TechCabal, which organises Moonshot.

The session featured Dr Neto Ikpeme, Associate Director of Primary Healthcare and Digital Health; Abubakar Yerima, Associate Director of Primary Healthcare and Digital Health at the Clinton Health Access Initiative; and Ikechukwu Ofuani, a senior government affairs and public policy leader at Policy Vault.

The discussion focused on healthcare access, policy and the role of innovation in addressing gaps in the health sector.

Speaking about the purpose of Moonshot, Eboegbe said the conference created a space for conversations about innovation and how technology could be used to address challenges facing Africans.

She said the theme of this year’s conference, “Courage and Conviction: Building for a New World”, reflected the need for people to develop solutions to problems affecting their communities.

Eboegbe said Moonshot was about finding the courage to build solutions using available technology and innovation.

On the growing number of people entering the technology sector, she attributed the trend partly to wider access to smartphones, the internet and artificial intelligence tools.

She said increased access had made it easier for more people to experiment with technology, but added that building sustainable businesses required more than following a trend.

“To build anything real, it is not a trend. You still have to do the work, right? And a lot of that work is what will separate people at the end of the day,” she said.

Eboegbe added that while more people exploring technology was welcome, building viable businesses and developing meaningful innovations required substantial work.

Another session, titled “Headlines by TechCabal”, featured Jumoke Olaniyan, Group Chief Strategy Officer of the Nigerian Exchange Group; Eamon Tuhami, a dealmaker with the Global Entrepreneurs Programme; Toyosi Badejo-Okusanya; and Anthony Catt, founder of Ventures54, who moderated the session.

The session formed part of discussions on business, entrepreneurship and the technology ecosystem at Moonshot 2026.

The first day’s programme also included a session titled “Evolving Business Models in African Fintech”. The session featured Oviosu; Dayo Odulate-Ademola, Managing Director of Branch International; and Chukwuma Nwanze, Managing Director of Credit Direct. Nnanna Ijezie, founder of Fintech is Easy, moderated the discussion.

The session examined business models within Africa’s fintech sector, with industry leaders discussing the changing financial technology landscape.

Moonshot is an annual pan-African technology conference that brings together technology companies, startups, entrepreneurs, creators and other industry stakeholders to discuss innovation and business development across the continent.

The fourth edition is holding at the National Theatre in Lagos from October 28 to 29, 2026.