Founded as Piggybank in 2016 but rebranded in 2019 to reflect a broadened focus, PiggyVest is a platform that helps Africans save and invest. Focused on low- to middle-income customers, it simplifies and encourages saving. The platform automatically deducts fixed amounts of money from its users' accounts according to their instructions, and users can invest within the platform and earn returns.

“PiggyVest exists because 80 percent of Nigerians need to save at least 40 percent of their monthly income to survive. We realized that a lot of young Nigerians were using wooden boxes as means of savings, so we set out to build a more sustainable solution,” says cofounder Odunayo Eweniyi.

PiggyVest has organically grown to over 4 million registered users and helped them save over $1 billion in total. Odunayo says that the company plans to continue to democratize financial services, with a focus on encouraging microinvestments and entry into insurance. “PiggyVest has a strong focus on customer satisfaction and reliable service. We have helped a lot of Nigerians get financially empowered and cultivate healthier savings habits,” she says. “People are now more open than ever to transacting over the internet from their devices, so there are a lot of exploratory chances within fintech for us to take advantage of.”

Initially bootstrapped, PiggyVest raised a seed round of $1.1 million in 2018 from a mix of angels and local and international VCs. The funding helped the company to expand its operations.