Eid-el-Fitr calls for national renewal, unity in faith – Lawan

Nigeria's fintech sector has attracted significant international attention, with venture capital flowing into Lagos-based startups at unprecedented rates. However, recent warnings from industry insiders suggest that European investors eyeing this ostensibly lucrative market must exercise considerably more caution than the headline growth figures would indicate. At the WISE 1.0 investment conference in March 2026, Kora's Chief Financial Officer Ayodeji Solomon Osisami delivered a sobering message to assembled investors: not all fintech startups will survive, despite the sector's apparent momentum. This candid assessment arrives at a critical inflection point for the Nigerian fintech ecosystem, which has matured significantly since the sector's explosive emergence in the mid-2010s. The Nigerian fintech landscape has become increasingly crowded. Over 300 registered fintech companies now operate across payments, lending, insurance, and investment platforms. While this density indicates market maturity in some respects, it also signals intensifying competition for limited customer acquisition resources and declining unit economics across multiple subsectors. For European investors accustomed to more consolidated markets, this fragmentation presents both opportunity and significant risk. Osisami's implicit warning reflects a broader trend affecting emerging market fintech investments globally. The "move fast and break things" mentality that characterized early-stage fintech development has given way to regulatory scrutiny,