Nigeria’s Sliding Currency Leaves Foreign-Backed Startups In Limbo

It’s bad enough that fintech startups have to grapple with the challenge of competing for funds in a global venture capital market that’s experiencing a funding drought. There is an extra hurdle for those using foreign capital to create new financial products in Nigeria: the value of the country’s currency has fallen 43% over the past year alone thanks to recent currency reform.

Nigeria is Africa’s biggest economy–it’s home to more than 220 million people and the continent’s leading destination for startup funding. A substantial portion of its financial transactions still occur in cash, creating a fertile ground for the development of multiple fintech solutions.