How Moniepoint built global credibility to unlock $100M in liquidity

In Africa’s private markets ecosystem, liquidity events are more rare, so equity often remains paper wealth – a promise rather than something tangible. For high-growth companies competing for global talent, this perception is a serious handicap. Moniepoint, Nigeria’s largest merchant acquirer and builder of Africa’s leading digital financial services platform, tackled this challenge by combining structured equity management with strategic liquidity.

The result: over $100 million unlocked for early investors and employees, transforming equity into real value while establishing the operational foundation needed to compete on the global stage.

Building a diligence-ready foundation

Before major external funding, Moniepoint managed equity via spreadsheet – a common approach that became increasingly problematic at scale. 

Multiple early-stage investors recommended Carta, recognizing that even before a company graduates from early-stage, the platform delivers immediate value by freeing founders to focus on growth rather than administrative tasks.

The difference became immediately clear. “When it comes to due diligence and audit season, it’s a headache to know which is actually right with different versions of spreadsheets. But with Carta, it’s easy,” said Ross Strike, SVP, Investor Relations at Moniepoint.

By moving everything from seed through Series C onto Carta, Moniepoint established a single source of truth where investors can access real-time information with ease.

“With Carta, all they need to do is to click a button to get all the information that they need,” said Ross. The instant, trusted visibility for Moniepoint’s stakeholders was unmatched, and ensured the team wasn’t distracted by administrative tasks. 

From an investor perspective, this transparency is essential: a flawed cap table serves as a “red flag to bigger problems,” says Ross. This diligence-ready infrastructure proved critical for attracting and giving confidence to institutional investors who demand operational maturity alongside growth metrics.

Unlocking liquidity at scale

Moniepoint’s Series C strategically combined primary funding and secondary liquidity for both early investors and employees. 

This approach addresses a critical African market challenge: Liquidity events remain rare compared to developed ecosystems, with limited M&A and IPO opportunities coupled with current volatility and restrictions, typically resulting in a longer path to exit.

“That’s where Carta’s liquidity solutions came in handy,” says Ross. “The platform provided the flexibility to facilitate various secondary transaction structures.” 

Running a tender offer at such a scale, Ross recalls that the Carta team proved indispensable in managing the complex logistics. “The Carta team was hands on, giving advice on project management, and making sure everything ran smoothly.” Crucially, Carta’s platform automated workflows that would have been unsustainable manually, handling bid submission and multi-currency settlements, including Naira.

Liquidity serves as a critical retention tool for Moniepoint. As the company expands internationally and competes for global talent, offering employees the ability to realize value is “not a nice-to-have, it’s a must-have,” particularly for senior roles. 

Ross said, “People value having options and selling a small portion of it to realize proceeds. And being able to continue that cycle. Once employees receive even modest liquidity, that dynamic changes quickly. It’s a game changer,” he said. “That instills confidence that the whole thing is worth something.” This tangible value can genuinely change lives, enabling major purchases like a first home or funding a child’s education.

Saving $1 million in billable hours

Global expansion introduces complex jurisdictional challenges, especially with employees moving across regions. For Moniepoint, Carta’s functionality proved invaluable when they had employees moving between Nigeria and UK headquarters.

“Carta allows you to tag employees by both entity and country, making it really easy to stay organized when it comes to holding taxes and making sure vesting periods are properly assigned for accounting and tax purposes,” says Ross.  

By shifting administrative tasks to Carta’s automated platform, Moniepoint estimated saving roughly $1 million in legal fees. 

Furthermore, because the platform provides standardized, IFRS-compliant data reports, annual audits were transformed from potential “100-hour projects” into quick verification exercises. This means faster audits, reduced costs, and the sustained credibility institutional investors require.

By choosing Carta, Moniepoint built the operational maturity and transparency required to secure major funding and attract top talent globally. This dedication does more than just manage equity, it builds trust and confidence across the entire African private market ecosystem, showing employees and investors alike that equity can, and do, become real value.