In a major move to address the engineering and digital skills shortage across West Africa, Nigerian fintech unicorn Moniepoint Inc. has announced a landmark ₦3 billion (approximately $2 million USD) investment to establish advanced innovation hubs across three of the country’s premier federal universities over the next three years.
The initiative signals an aggressive shift by Africa’s private sector to build a pipeline of local tech talent directly from tertiary institutions. The investment will fund the construction and operation of state of the art facilities at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU)in Ile-Ife, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) in Zaria.
By strategically placing these hubs in the South-West, South-East, and Northern regions of the country, Moniepoint aims to decentralize tech opportunities, which have historically been heavily concentrated in Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos.
The new innovation hubs will go beyond traditional computer labs, offering structured, cohort based programs in cutting-edge fields. Students will receive hands on training in software engineering, artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, product design, data science, and entrepreneurship.
Crucially, the initiative is open to students from all faculties including the arts, sciences, medicine, and law rather than being restricted solely to computer science majors. Moniepoint has committed to providing continuous curriculum support, industry led masterclasses, internship pathways, and direct mentorship from its own world-class engineering and product teams.
Speaking at the official unveiling ceremony at Obafemi Awolowo University, Tosin Eniolorunda, the Co-founder and Group Chief Executive Officer of Moniepoint Inc., emphasized that sustainable growth in Africa’s digital economy requires heavy, localized infrastructure.
“When you look at the success of companies like Moniepoint, it’s easy to forget that it all started with the foundational training we received right here in Nigerian universities,” Eniolorunda, an alumnus of OAU, stated. “Nigeria’s digital economy cannot run on potential alone; it requires immense, localized talent density. By launching these Innovation Hubs beginning with OAU, UNN, and ABU Zaria, we are intentionally anchoring world class technical skills across the country.”
Eniolorunda also emphasized that the vision extends far beyond physical brick and mortar structures, “What we are building will not just be physical infrastructure. We are creating environments where students can build practical skills, collaborate, and prepare properly for the future.”
This aggressive expansion follows the success of Moniepoint’s previous talent development collaborations. The company previously backed the “HatchDev” program at the University of Lagos in partnership with the NITHub innovation centre, which successfully scales to train roughly 500 developers annually.
As African tech startups face increasingly stiff competition from international remote work employers for mid to senior level engineers, building an abundant, market-ready junior workforce locally has become a matter of business survival.
University administrators have welcomed the investment as a vital lifeline at a time when public tertiary institutions in Nigeria face severe funding constraints.
Professor Simeon Bamire, the Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, characterized the ₦3 billion commitment as a critical strategic intervention capable of curbing youth unemployment and fostering local economic resilience “This partnership with Moniepoint Group is a powerful affirmation of our belief that knowledge must serve society,” Professor Bamire noted. “The Moniepoint Innovation Hub will not only expand what our students can learn but also transform what they believe is possible.”
Professor Bamire further revealed that the university has already allocated and approved dedicated land on campus for the construction, making Moniepoint the first private enterprise to establish a self contained innovation hub of this scale on the university’s grounds.“We are already nurturing about 10 startups on campus,” Bamire added. “With this intervention, that number can double within the next few years.”
The sentiment was echoed across the academic spectrum. Representing the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, the Deputy Vice Chancellor of Academics, Professor Kamoru Usman, delivering a statement on behalf of UNN Vice Chancellor Professor Uchenna Ortuanya, praised the move as an essential model for national development. According to Professor Ortuanya’s address, the initiative reflects a vital need for Nigeria to “harness indigenous ideas for national development.” He further described the corporate donation as a major contribution toward “preserving knowledge, restoring human dignity, and empowering future generations through innovation.”
As Moniepoint continues to handle an astronomical volume of business transactions processing over $170 billion annually for over 1.6 million businesses the fintech giant plans to use its vast network of investors, engineers, and digital tools to integrate these university hubs into the broader global tech ecosystem. The group has indicated that these three federal universities represent only the first phase of a broader rollout intended to span more public campuses nationwide.
