If you’ve always lived in Lagos or some other busy city in Nigeria, Abuja may be an intimidating place to be. From the terrain, the views, the roads, the trees, the communities, the food, the people, the fun places to hang out, and the serenity that flows through the city, Moni is biased towards Abuja

And the city loves us too.

This is proof 👇🏾👇🏾👇🏾

Why were we even in Abuja?

The Association of Mobile money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) , which is a large network of agents and aggregators from all over the country, held their 5th Annual Conference and Moni was a platinum sponsor. These agents and aggregators play a crucial role in making financial inclusion a possibility in this part of the world. These are the people we are building Moni for and the kind of people who truly belong in the Moni Community. It was a no-brainer that we had to be there and deeply involved. Abuja is one of the 25 states that Moni already has clusters in, this was an opportunity to spend time with them, learn the successes and challenges they are faced with.

The Conference was held at the National Centre for Women’s Development and it ran through two weekdays. These business owners left their businesses for this conference to get insight on recent happenings and growth in their industry, connect with other agents like them, and listen to experts share possibilities in their sector. We’d never seen anything like it. They trooped in on both days and we saw, firsthand, what a community meant to these agents.

Moni is pioneering CoFi — Community Finance, our lending model isn’t only unique but ingenious in its approach. Our process is centered around the agents we give float to, their social reputation, and their ability to be accountable to one another. This is one of the reasons we felt right at home in Abuja. Every agent or aggregator who walked into our booth asking us questions about our products and offers returned with a friend or colleague who they think would be just as interested as they were.

We experienced the work AMMBAN is doing firsthand. It’s not just gathering agents and stakeholders under one roof; it’s the sustenance of the community spirit when they aren’t all together under one roof. Each state in the country has an AMMBAN chapter with capable executives communicating the mind of the association to everyone in their communities. We met with a few of these leaders and we listened to them share their unique experiences being a community leader, a mobile money agent or an aggregator.

One of the most exciting moments for us was that AMMBAN recognized the work we do at Moni and everything we stand for. The association awarded our contribution to the mobile money industry and all we are doing to drive financial inclusion. Adebola Zoe Williams received the award on the company’s behalf and that’s where the slogan Moni, More Money was first used. We didn’t know that the conference attendees had picked it up and they reiterated it at our training the next couple of days.

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We hosted a two-day training after the conference with the agents we connected with at the conference. They were kin to know more about Moni and we did what we love doing most — solving their float issues with our services.

We learned something important about Abuja folks during our time there — Abuja people aren’t in a haste like Lagos folks usually are. We got to Ventures Platform which was the venue for our training so early because as Lagosians we are used to leaving for meetings two hours early to beat the traffic. When we got to Ventures platform, we realized we didn’t behave like the Romans when in Rome. We sat for a while and thought people who were excited about our product the previous day weren’t going to show up anymore. But one after the other, they began to arrive. It wasn’t just relief that we felt, we had to accept that we were in the coolest city in the country.

The second day of our training was much more fun than the first as we hosted some AMMBAN executives and agents who didn’t live in Abuja; they stayed for Moni. Some rescheduled their flight for Moni. It was such a wholesome experience for all the team members present. There were more ongoing conversations after the training and people were eager to do what needed to be done to join the Moni Community.

Abuja was a 3 experience for Moni — the interactions, conversations, enthusiasm toward our solution and our model, stories, fun, and good vibes.

We spent time with some Cluster Heads and agents who attended the conference from different cities and those who live in Abuja.

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We are looking forward to spending time with our newest agents in the city soon.