The insurance industry in Nigeria has been misunderstood, underutilized, and mistrusted, Tomilola “Tomi” Majekodunmi however didn’t see a broken system but saw an opportunity to rebuild trust.
As the co-founder and CEO of Bankly, a Nigerian fintech redefining how people save, access, and protect their money, she is leading one of the most important transformations in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem—bringing informal savings and micro-insurance into the digital age.
Majekodunmi’s journey into fintech wasn’t accidental—it was personal and deliberate.
Born and raised in Nigeria, she grew up observing the everyday struggles of people operating within the informal economy: market traders, transport operators, artisans, and micro-entrepreneurs who lacked access to traditional banking and insurance services.
Most of them depended on thrift collectors (known locally as ajo or esusu) to save and manage money. The problem? These systems, though culturally rooted, were highly vulnerable—informal, unregulated, and susceptible to fraud or loss.
That gap stayed with her through her career in finance.
Before founding Bankly, Majekodunmi worked with global institutions like Axa Mansard, Allianz, and Airtel Money, where she gained a front-row view of Africa’s fintech evolution.
But she also saw something else: that millions of Nigerians remained excluded from financial safety nets, not because they didn’t want to save—but because the system didn’t understand them.
In 2018, she decided to change that. With her co-founder Fredrick Adams, she launched Bankly, a digital savings platform that digitizes informal thrift collection through technology.
By using QR codes, digital wallets, and agent networks, Bankly helps people securely save and access funds, even without smartphones or internet connectivity.
What began as a simple savings app soon evolved into something bigger—a movement to bring financial dignity to the unbanked.
Bankly’s model bridges that trust gap. Through its network of over 50,000 agents across Nigeria, the platform connects informal cash-based communities to the digital economy.
Customers can now save, withdraw, and even access micro-loans or insurance—all through familiar community channels, backed by the security of a licensed financial service.
Under Majekodunmi’s leadership, Bankly has raised over $2 million in funding, with backing from global investors like Vault, Microtraction, and African unicorn Flutterwave’s early-stage network.
The company’s goal is audacious but clear—to onboard 20 million unbanked Nigerians by digitizing their savings and connecting them to credit and insurance systems that work for them.
Majekodunmi’s approach is deeply empathetic yet fiercely data-driven. She is as comfortable analyzing regulatory frameworks as she is sitting with traders in Lagos markets, listening to how they manage their day-to-day finances.
This duality—of vision and grassroots connection—defines her leadership.
Her impact hasn’t gone unnoticed. Majekodunmi has been featured in Forbes Africa, Bloomberg, and Business Insider Africa as one of the women shaping Africa’s fintech revolution.
She’s also a Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) alumna and a mentor for young female entrepreneurs breaking into tech and finance.
Beyond her business acumen, Majekodunmi represents a new wave of African female founders who aren’t just innovating for growth, but for inclusion.
Her leadership underscores a powerful truth: that technology, when built with cultural understanding, can humanize finance and transform economies from the ground up.
In many ways, Bankly is more than a fintech startup—it’s a social reengineering tool. By digitizing informal savings, the platform is creating a transparent bridge between the unbanked and the formal financial sector, unlocking creditworthiness, financial literacy, and security for millions who were previously invisible to the system.
For Majekodunmi, success isn’t measured in downloads or investor returns—it’s in the faces of those who no longer fear losing their hard-earned money.
As Nigeria pushes toward a cashless, inclusive economy, Tomilola Majekodunmi’s work stands at the intersection of innovation and impact.
Her story is a reminder that real progress in Africa’s fintech revolution isn’t just about building apps—it’s about building access.
