Moniepoint invests ₦3 billion in university tech hubs after CEO backlash
Moniepoint is investing 3 billion naira in innovation hubs after its CEO said Nigerians are unemployable. The fintech giant is building state-of-the-art innovation hubs across Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), University of Nigeria (UNN), and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU). The move follows heavy backlash over CEO Tosin Eniolorunda's comments about the quality of local talent.
The hubs will train students in software engineering, artificial intelligence, data science, product design, and digital entrepreneurship. This initiative aims to bridge Nigeria's tech talent gap and boost employment.
Why Moniepoint is investing in innovation hubs
Speaking at The Platform Nigeria event in Lagos, Eniolorunda revealed that Moniepoint had roughly 500 open vacancies it was struggling to fill. He explicitly blamed the quality of local applicants, stating that the company could not find the necessary technical talent within the country. 'Not only could we not find people in the quantity and the quality we needed, but the people we found also were not up to the global standards of quality that we needed,' Eniolorunda stated. He questioned the country's education system, adding: 'I am beginning to feel we need to do something for the general IQ of this country.'
The comments quickly set the internet on fire. Critics slammed the fintech boss on social media, accusing the local tech ecosystem of wanting 'global standards' without offering competitive, global-level wages. Now, the digital banking powerhouse appears to be actively trying to fix the very talent gap it complained about.
Decentralising tech talents across Nigeria
The new ₦3 billion initiative will fund the creation of Moniepoint Innovation Hubs over the next three years. Instead of concentrating resources in Lagos or Abuja, the fintech firm is spreading the investment across three different geopolitical zones to decentralise tech opportunities. The chosen institutions are: Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife (South-West); University of Nigeria (UNN), Nsukka (South-East); and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria (North).
The hubs will focus on practical, cohort-based training. Students will get hands-on experience in high-demand fields, including software engineering, artificial intelligence and robotics, data science, product design and development, and digital entrepreneurship. The programme is open to students across all faculties, ranging from engineering to the humanities. Moniepoint plans to offer curriculum support, mentorship from its internal product teams, and direct internship pathways.
'Paying it forward' to the local ecosystem
Eniolorunda, an alumnus of OAU, adopted a much more collaborative tone during the official project unveiling. He acknowledged that Moniepoint's own foundations were rooted in Nigerian universities. 'Nigeria's digital economy cannot run on potential alone; it requires immense, localised talent density,' Eniolorunda said. 'Before we built anything, universities like UNILAG and OAU built people like Felix [co-founder] and me. This initiative is about paying that trust forward.'
University officials have welcomed the multi-billion-naira intervention. Prof. Adebayo Simeon Bamire, the Vice-Chancellor of OAU, described the move as a major boost that would reduce youth unemployment and accelerate startup incubation on campuses. The project scales up Moniepoint's existing academic footprint, which already includes the HatchDev programme at the University of Lagos and a ₦100 million engineering lab donation to OAU. By taking matters into its own hands, Moniepoint aims to build a sustainable, industry-ready pipeline of tech talent. The move could ultimately ensure its next 500 job vacancies can be filled right at home.
