# Mono **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/mono **Vertical:** Finance **Subcategory:** Accounting Software **Tier:** Emerging **Website:** mono.co **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary Nigerian open banking API connecting African businesses to 20+ bank accounts for creditworthiness and payments; $17.6M from Tiger Global and General Catalyst competing with Okra for African financial data. ## Company Overview Mono is a Lagos-based fintech company providing open banking APIs that enable African businesses to connect with their customers' financial accounts — offering account connectivity (read customer bank account data with consent), direct bank transfers, identity verification, and income verification APIs that developers and financial institutions use to build credit, payments, and financial planning products across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt. A Y Combinator W21 graduate, Mono raised $17.6 million total including a $15 million Series A in October 2021 led by Tiger Global, General Catalyst, and Target Global. Mono's API infrastructure solves a foundational problem for African fintech: to build products that assess creditworthiness, verify income, or enable bank transfers, developers need to connect to customers' existing bank accounts. Mono provides the OAuth-based consented data access layer that lets customers authorize financial apps to read their bank statement data, verify account ownership, or initiate transfers — across 20+ African financial institutions. This mirrors what Plaid built for the US and Truelayer built for Europe, applied to the African banking infrastructure. In 2025, Mono competes in the African open banking and financial data API market with Okra (Nigerian open banking, raised $30M+), Stitch (South African open banking), and Plaid's potential African expansion for financial data connectivity infrastructure. Africa's banking sector has unique infrastructure challenges — mobile money (M-Pesa in Kenya, MTN Mobile Money) operates alongside traditional banks, and the API landscape requires connecting to both. Mono's multi-country expansion across Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, and Egypt creates the geographic coverage that cross-border African fintech products need. Tiger Global's 2021 investment was made during the period of peak fintech valuations; the market has normalized since. The 2025 strategy focuses on growing the Nigerian core market (the largest African economy), expanding transaction volumes through the payment APIs, and building the income and employment verification products that enable African credit products. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Mono? Mono is a Lagos, Nigeria-based fintech company founded in 2020 that provides open banking APIs empowering businesses to connect with their customers' financial accounts across Africa. The company is unlocking Africa's financial ecosystem through secure account connectivity and financial data infrastructure. ### What products and services does Mono offer? Mono offers open banking APIs, financial account connectivity, banking data infrastructure, account aggregation, and payment initiation services. These solutions enable businesses to securely access and utilize financial data across African markets. ### Who are Mono's target customers? Mono serves businesses that need to connect with their customers' financial accounts across Africa. The company's APIs are designed for enterprises requiring secure access to banking data and financial account connectivity. ### When was Mono founded? Mono was founded in 2020 by Abdul Hassan. The company was part of Y Combinator's Winter 2021 (W21) cohort. ### Where is Mono headquartered? Mono is based in Lagos, Nigeria. The company operates in the African fintech sector, providing open banking infrastructure across the continent. ### How much funding has Mono raised? Mono has raised $17.6 million in total funding, including a $15 million Series A round in October 2021. The Series A was led by Tiger Global Management with participation from Target Global, General Catalyst, SBI Investment, Entree Capital, and others, bringing the total number of investors to 19. ### How large is Mono's team? Mono has grown to a team size of 11-50 employees. The company has expanded since its founding in 2020 and participation in Y Combinator's W21 cohort. ### What technology approach does Mono use? Mono uses open banking APIs to provide secure financial account connectivity and banking data infrastructure. The company's approach focuses on enabling businesses to aggregate account data and initiate payments across Africa's financial ecosystem. ### Who founded Mono? Mono was founded by Abdul Hassan in 2020. Under his leadership, the company went through Y Combinator's Winter 2021 cohort and raised significant funding from prominent investors. ### What are Mono's recent developments? Mono most recently raised a $15 million Series A funding round in October 2021 led by Tiger Global Management, bringing total funding to $17.6 million. The company participated in Y Combinator's Winter 2021 cohort and continues to expand its open banking infrastructure across Africa. ## Tags b2b, fintech, payment-processing, api-first, latin-america, startup --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*