Payments: Nigeria (Paystack) & Philippines (PayMongo)

We’re zooming in on digital payments, spotlighting two leading fintech players: Paystack in Nigeria and PayMongo in the Philippines. As digital commerce accelerates across emerging markets, companies like these are transforming how businesses and consumers transact—making payments faster, more secure, and more seamless than ever before.Paystack has become a major player in Nigeria and across Africa, powering online and in-person payments for hundreds of thousands of businesses. The Nigerian market is experiencing explosive growth: digital wallet and prepaid card transactions are projected to reach $15.2 billion this year, fueled by a growing e-commerce sector, improved infrastructure, and a population shifting away from being cash-based to cashless.On the other side of the world, PayMongo is leading the charge in the Philippines, enabling businesses of all sizes to accept payments through cards, e-wallets, and over-the-counter channels with developer-friendly APIs and seamless integrations. The Philippines’ digital payments market is on a similar trajectory to Nigeria, expected to triple in size to $1.7 billion by 2033, driven by smartphone adoption, government support, and a similar shift away from cash.Both companies have attracted global attention, with Stripe—the U.S. payments giant—playing a pivotal role. Stripe acquired Paystack in a landmark deal in 2020 to expand its African footprint, and is also a key investor in PayMongo, signaling the immense potential seen in these fast-growing markets. In this episode, we’ll explore how Paystack and PayMongo are reshaping financial access, the challenges they faced and continue to face, and the massive opportunities that lie ahead in two of the world’s most exciting fintech frontiers. We’ll sit down first with Paystack’s COO Amandine Lobelle & Paymongo’s CEO Jojo Malolos, and are later joined by Kola Aina of Ventures Platform and Sam Gibb of Resolution Ventures who will share deeper investor insights about the companies and the markets we’re spotlighting.