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§ Private Profile · Lagos, Lagos, Nigeria
Piggyvest is a technology company.
PiggyVest operates as West Africa's pioneering online savings and investment platform, enabling individuals to manage and grow their finances digitally. The company offers a suite of financial products, including automated and fixed savings, goal-oriented plans, and flexible saving options for both local and foreign currency. Beyond traditional savings, PiggyVest also provides direct investment opportunities, evolving from its initial savings-focused model to a comprehensive wealth management tool.
The company was founded by Somto Ifezue, Odunayo Eweniyi, and Joshua Chibueze, launching on January 7, 2016, originally as Piggybank.ng. Their insight stemmed from observing prevalent informal saving practices, like traditional wooden "Kolos" in Nigeria, and recognizing the significant potential to digitize these habits. This understanding underpinned their development of a more structured and accessible platform for financial discipline.
PiggyVest caters to individuals aiming to cultivate better financial management and growth. Its product is designed to simplify money management, offering users transparency in their financial journeys. The company's overarching mission is to empower everyone with the capability to effectively manage and expand their finances, fostering financial inclusion and progress across the region.
Piggyvest has raised $4.2M across 3 funding rounds.
Key people at Piggyvest.
Piggyvest was founded in 2016 by Somtochukwu Ifezue (Co-founder and Lead Product Engineer) and Odunayo Eweniyi (Co-founder and COO) and Nonso Eagle (Co-Founder and CCO) and Joshua Chibueze (Co-Founder) and Ayo Akinola (Co-Founder).
Piggyvest has raised $4.2M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Piggyvest has raised $4.2M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $3.0M Other Equity in February 2024.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 13, 2024 | $3M Venture Round | Flutterwave | — | Announced |
| May 31, 2018 | $1.1M Seed | Olumide Soyombo | Ventures Platform, Village Capital | Announced |
| Apr 1, 2017 | $50K Seed | — | Village Capital | Announced |
Piggyvest was founded in 2016 by Somtochukwu Ifezue (Co-founder and Lead Product Engineer) and Odunayo Eweniyi (Co-founder and COO) and Nonso Eagle (Co-Founder and CCO) and Joshua Chibueze (Co-Founder) and Ayo Akinola (Co-Founder).
Piggyvest has raised $4.2M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Piggyvest's investors include Flutterwave, Olumide Soyombo, Ventures Platform, Village Capital.
Piggyvest is Nigeria's leading digital savings and investment platform, helping over 6 million users save and invest billions of Naira monthly through automated, flexible, and goal-oriented tools.[4][5][6] Originally launched as Piggybank.ng in 2016 as a savings-only app, it rebranded to Piggyvest in 2019 to add direct investment services, solving Nigeria's weak savings culture by mimicking traditional "kolo" piggy banks with modern features like penalty-free group withdrawals and high-interest plans (12%–20% per annum).[1][2][4] It serves Nigerian millennials and businesses facing financial insecurity, offering products like Automated Savings (Piggybank), Fixed Savings (Safelock), Target Savings, Flex Naira/Dollar, and HouseMoney for rent/expenses, while delivering over ₦2.8 trillion ($1.8 billion) in cumulative payouts by mid-2025.[1][5]
The platform has shown strong growth, hitting ₦1 billion saved in a single month by 2018 (up from ₦700 million the prior year), acquiring licenses for its own treasury and payments infrastructure (including a bank acquisition), and earning spots on CNBC's top fintech lists.[1][2][3]
Piggyvest emerged from a team of Nigerian entrepreneurs tackling millennial pain points like unemployment, food access, and poor savings habits. The founding team first built Piggyvest Business as Patronize (smart POS for payments), then launched Piggybank.ng on January 7, 2016, as a savings app inspired by the traditional "kolo" wooden piggy bank to enforce discipline via automated savings and withdrawal penalties (except on free dates).[1][2][4] Early side ventures included 500dishes (food delivery) and 99Staff (outsourcing), but savings took off; by 2018, they acquired Gold Microfinance Bank for licensing and profitability via recruitment fees.[1][3]
In April 2019, Piggybank.ng rebranded to Piggyvest, partnering with AIICO Capital for investments before building in-house capabilities. Key milestones include securing cooperative, microfinance, and Mobile Money Operator licenses amid regulatory hurdles, and recent bank acquisition for full payments control after two years of integration.[1][2][3] Founders like Joshua Chibueze (Endeavor Entrepreneur) humanize the story, evolving from payment tools to financial security for millions.[2]
Piggyvest rides Nigeria's fintech boom amid low savings rates, high inflation, and youth unemployment, digitizing informal habits like "kolo" and "ajo" (group savings) for a 200+ million population with rising smartphone penetration.[1][2] Timing aligns with regulatory easing (e.g., CBN sandbox) and post-COVID demand for digital finance, enabling scale from partnerships to self-reliance—acquiring a bank positions it against giants like Opay or Kuda.[2][3]
It influences Africa's startup ecosystem by proving emerging-market scalability: building global teams, financial literacy at scale, and embedded finance in consumer apps, while inspiring copycats like Risevest.[2][3] Market forces like dollar savings demand (Flex Dollar) and youth-led innovation favor it, fostering a safer "safety net" culture in volatile economies.[3]
Piggyvest is poised for regional expansion in West Africa, leveraging in-house banking for seamless embedded finance, cross-border dollar products, and AI-driven personalization to hit 10+ million users.[2][5] Trends like open banking, crypto integration (cautiously), and climate-resilient investments will shape it, amplifying influence as Nigeria's savings pioneer—potentially acquiring more fintechs or listing publicly. This evolution from "kolo" simplicity to financial empowerment cements its role in securing Nigeria's future, one automated save at a time.[1][4]
