https://restofworld.org/2024/3-minutes-with-odun-eweniyi/ Skip to content Reporting Global Tech Stories AfricaInnovationWhy African startups don't always need to expand across the continent [ ] [Go] [ ] [Go] * About * Latest * Newsletters Explore by Regions * Africa * Asia * China * Eastern Europe * Latin America * South Asia * Middle East & North Africa Sections * Access & Connectivity * Creators & Communities * E-commerce * Innovation * Labor * Money * Politics * The Platform Economy Beats * The Rise of AI * China Outside China * EV Revolution * Silicon Valley in Rest of World * Creator Economy * Regional Champions Sign up for our newsletter Name [ ] Email [ ] [Sign Up] Learn more * About us * Team news * Work with us * Support us * Platforms * Listen Follow us * * * * * * Dark Mode 3 Minutes With Why African startups don't always need to expand across the continent PiggyVest co-founder Odunayo Eweniyi says fintech products aren't necessarily replicable in other African countries. A photo of Odun Eweniyi against a purple and cream background. By Damilare Dosunmu 12 March 2024 * Lagos, Nigeria [3MW-Odun-E] 3 Minutes With Why African startups don't always need to expand across the continent By Damilare Dosunmu Odunayo Eweniyi is the co-founder and chief operating officer of PiggyVest, a Nigerian startup that operates as a digital wealth-management platform. The 8-year-old company has over 4.5 million users, and is one of Nigeria's biggest fintech startups. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. PiggyVest has operated in Nigeria for more than seven years. Are you considering expanding into other markets? When you think of expansion as a Nigerian company, you think of [moving into] Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. But besides the similarities in macroeconomics, you'll realize that products aren't necessarily replicable in African countries. For instance, product adoption is slower in countries like Ghana, and scaling a digital savings product in Kenya will be a huge challenge. For a country like Egypt, you can't exactly take a product called PiggyVest and expect adoption. We spent the first four or five years building a solid foundation in Nigeria. So, considering the conditions that made us successful here, our next market could be Thailand, Brazil, or Mexico. It could even be Ethiopia or South Africa. How do you measure growth without expanding to more markets for more users? Our product offerings continue to expand. We have grown from serving just young people to other demographics that need to do more with their money, other than saving. We enable our users to invest their funds. We are taking lessons from global companies to continue to layer more offerings on our product to provide more value to our customers. The reliability of our product and the accessibility of our team have helped in building trust over the years. Which global fintech firms do you learn from? We take bits and pieces from many companies -- like Ant Group, after which we loosely modeled bits of the PiggyVest ecosystem. We've exchanged ideas with the CEO of Wealthsimple, a Canadian company. A new feature we are launching soon is a product of those exchanges. There's also Onyx in America. We've learned from these companies how to diversify our product, build a strong ecosystem network, and create great user experiences and financial education. Damilare Dosunmu is a Rest of World reporter based in Lagos, Nigeria. Read more stories [north-kore] Founder's Note What I missed when I went to North Korea Eleven years after her Pyongyang trip, Rest of World's founder revisits how she interpreted the country, its people, and their culture. By Sophie Schmidt [China-Real] Creator Economy The vacation town that livestream shopping built Real estate agents in China turn to Douyin and Kuaishou to show properties virtually through livestreaming, drawing the attention of out-of-town buyers. By Caiwei Chen An illustration of Visa and Mastercard within the silhouette of the African continent against a green halftone background. Silicon Valley in Rest of World Visa and Mastercard are pouring money into Africa From a startup accelerator to funding startups and even investing in telecom companies, the two U.S. giants are steadily increasing their presence on the continent. By Damilare Dosunmu * * * * * * * About us * Jobs * Privacy Policy * Platforms * Newsletters * Donate * Contact us (c) 2024 Rest of World