Turbo Finance: From Microfinance Roots to A Digital Bank Future

Old Roots, Reinvented Future

Picture this: you need to make a payment urgently, but the bank queue stretches out the door. Or maybe you’ve applied for a loan, only to be told it’ll take weeks to process—even though your business needs the funds today.

For too long, this has been the everyday reality of millions of Nigerians and Africans navigating traditional banking systems. At Turbo Finance, we knew it was time to change the script.

That’s why we’re moving boldly from Microfinance Bank (MFB) to a full-fledged digital bank. The financial world is shifting, and so are we.

Why the Shift? The Pain Points That Sparked It

We heard it directly from our customers:

• Long wait times. The average Nigerian spends 55 minutes in a bank branch per visit. Multiply that by several visits a month, and you lose valuable hours of productivity.
• Slow access to credit. Traditional loans can take 2–6 weeks to process, often making funds irrelevant by the time they arrive.
• Paperwork-heavy onboarding. 68% of small business owners cite bureaucracy as the #1 reason they avoid formal financial institutions (SMEDAN Report, 2021).

While Nigeria has made progress in financial inclusion, gaps remain. According to the EFInA Access to Financial Services (A2F) 2023 Survey, 36% of Nigerian adults (about 38 million people) are still financially excluded.

But even among those who are formally served, challenges persist:

• Fraud and poor service: 20% of adults report that poor experiences, fraud, and lack of trust discourage them from using banks.
• High banking costs: 16% cite high banking charges as a reason for not having or using formal accounts.
• Lack of clarity: 13% say financial information is unclear or too complex, limiting their confidence in banks.

The A2F 2023 survey also sheds light on the barriers to owning a bank account:

• Little or irregular income: 50% of unbanked adults say their income is too small or irregular to justify opening an account.
• Access to banks: 24% cite distance to bank branches or service points as a key barrier.
• Institutional exclusion: 11% report being refused an account due to documentation, identity, or other institutional hurdles.

On the flip side, digital finance is rising. The same survey shows that 45% of Nigerian adults now use digital financial services (DFS) such as mobile wallets, agency banking, and USSD—up from 36% in 2020. Yet, uptake is still uneven—limited by trust, digital literacy, and the ability of institutions to provide simple, reliable solutions.

This is the gap Turbo Finance is stepping in to close.

These barriers weren’t just inconveniences—they were lost opportunities and why this transformation matters.