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backIn early September, a few of us from the Moniepoint team were in Bayelsa to tell the story of a remarkable woman called Yiteovie. Unlike our usual stories about Moniepoint’s impact, this one focused less on us and more on her life as a small but vital part of Nigeria’s vast fishing economy.
Before the trip, I already had a few questions prepared. There was a lot about our data that we needed to validate while we were out there. One thing I was especially curious about was why so many businesses remain informal. Why hadn’t they registered their business with the CAC? What was holding them back?
Before we dive in, this newsletter was written in collaboration with M, our informal economy AI chatbot. You can explore more insights and data on Nigeria’s informal economy here: informalreport.moniepoint.com
Yiteovie’s story
Yiteovie’s family lives in a part of Baylsa called Down Yenogoa, right on the edge of a body of water. This body of water stretches both far and wide, with occasional canoes and speedboats taking people across. For them, this body of water is not just scenery. It’s everything. From fishing to cooking, it forms a part of their lives and how they make their livelihood.
Yiteovie’s story was unlike anything we could have predicted. She dropped out of school to have a child and spent years trying to make a living, from one hustle to another. This business she now ran —fishing and selling what she caught —was the first time she owned something that could sufficiently take care of her family and meet their basic needs.
Why is this relevant to her relationship with formality?
When informality isn’t a choice
Sitting on a canoe, listening to her story, I realised something. She wasn’t actively “informal”. She didn’t even realise what that was. This was just her reality. She set traps, sold the fish she caught at the market, saved what she could, and used the rest to meet her needs.
She hadn’t exactly begun with an idea of the formal systems that exist, or with the desire to scale into something grand. She had a family to cater to, and this business helped her do so. It was just that simple.
Why her story matters
Understanding why businesses like Yiteovie’s end up in the informal economy helps us build better solutions for them.
When businesses are informal, they often miss out on opportunities. With little visibility into their performance, they struggle to access credit, government programmes, or other formal support systems. This means that:
Most earn less than ₦10,000 a day
42% have savings that would only last a month if their business stopped running
But for many, informality is also a starting point. Recognising this shifts the conversation from fixing informality to supporting growth by creating smoother pathways that help these businesses scale sustainably.
Moniepoint’s role in this, and why it matters
Moniepoint’s mission is to create financial happiness for every African, everywhere, including the millions of businesses in Nigeria’s informal economy.
Providing access to simple digital banking solutions, we give business owners like Yiteovie a pathway out of invisibility. This means that as her business grows, we grow along with her, providing support every step of the way. Our hyperlocal support system means that whenever she reaches out, there’s someone on the Moniepoint team who speaks her language and can provide the support she needs.
Our collaboration with government stakeholders, like the Corporate Affairs Commission, means it’s way easier for Yiteovie to become formalised than ever before, right within the Moniepoint app.
Together, these efforts place us in a unique position to help informal businesses grow, formalise, and continue driving Nigeria’s economy forward.
In case you missed it, our 2025 informal economy report is live. Check it out here: informalreport.moniepoint.com
Till next time,
Keep your dreams alive.
