Moniepoint Buys Orda to Capture Africa’s $50bn Restaurant Economy

Nigerian fintech company Moniepoint Inc. has acquired restaurant management startup Orda Africa in a move aimed at expanding its reach into Africa’s fast-growing food service industry, a sector estimated to be worth about $50 billion across the continent.

The deal integrates Orda’s cloud-based restaurant software into Moniepoint’s business management platform, Moniebook, allowing food vendors and restaurants to manage orders, payments, inventory and accounting from a single system.

The acquisition highlights a wider shift among African fintech firms that are moving beyond payments to offer operational tools and credit to small businesses, especially those in the informal economy.

Tosin Eniolorunda, Moniepoint co-founder and group CEO, said the food sector represents one of the most active but underserved parts of Africa’s economy.

“The food industry is a major source of jobs and daily survival for many Africans,” Eniolorunda said, adding that many businesses still rely on manual processes and disconnected tools.

The move reflects a growing competition among financial technology firms to control the digital infrastructure behind small businesses, particularly restaurants, which generate frequent transactions and require working capital.

Africa’s food service market is expanding quickly as urban populations grow and more consumers eat outside the home. Nigeria alone is projected to see its restaurant market reach about $19.3 billion by 2030, growing at an annual rate of more than 11 percent.

Founded in 2020, Orda built software designed for small and independent restaurants that previously operated without digital systems. The company’s tools help businesses track orders, manage kitchen workflows and monitor stock levels.

Guy Futi, Orda CEO, said joining Moniepoint would allow the company to connect operational data from restaurants with financial services such as payments and credit.

“To truly transform the industry, we needed to connect that expertise with comprehensive financial infrastructure,” Futi said, adding that customers would continue to use the platform while gaining access to new services.

Moniepoint, founded in 2015 by Eniolorunda and Felix Ike, has grown rapidly in Nigeria’s fintech sector. The company says it serves more than 20 million businesses and individuals and processes over $250 billion in digital payment transactions annually.

The company is one of the country’s largest merchant acquirers, powering a significant share of point-of-sale transactions across Nigeria.

The acquisition also signals how fintech firms are increasingly targeting specific sectors rather than offering generic financial services. Restaurants and food vendors are particularly attractive because they generate daily transactions and rely on steady supply chains, creating opportunities for lending and financial data analysis.

Experts say digitising restaurant operations could help unlock access to credit for many small food businesses that struggle to obtain loans due to poor record keeping.

By integrating Orda’s tools, Moniepoint could gain deeper insights into how restaurants operate, from sales patterns to inventory cycles, allowing it to develop lending products tailored to the sector.

The move may also intensify competition in Africa’s growing food-tech space, where startups are building tools for restaurants, delivery platforms and supply chains. However, industry observers note that many independent food businesses still operate offline, suggesting large untapped potential.

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For Moniepoint, the acquisition fits a broader strategy of building a full financial ecosystem around African small businesses, rather than focusing only on payments.

For millions of food entrepreneurs across the continent, from roadside food vendors to large restaurant operators, the deal could mean easier access to digital tools and financing, two factors analysts say will shape the next phase of growth in Africa’s informal economy.