GTCO’s Agbaje Doubles Down on Call for Fintech Transparency

Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) CEO Segun Agbaje’s challenge to Nigeria’s fintech companies to publish their financial results has resurfaced, highlighting a fundamental difference in approach between established financial institutions and venture-backed digital payment providers.

The remarks, made during GTCO’s Facts Behind the Offer presentation in 2024, have gone viral as HabariPay, GTCO’s payments subsidiary, continues to demonstrate strong financial performance with publicly available results. Agbaje specifically challenged fintechs like OPay and Moniepoint—which have attracted billions in funding but remain private—to show their financials.

The Numbers Speak for Themselves

HabariPay’s recent performance has validated Agbaje’s confidence, reporting a profit before tax of N4.02 billion in the first half of 2025, nearly double the N2.07 billion recorded during the same period in 2024—a remarkable 95% year-on-year growth.

Operating income also surged by 82% to N5.05 billion thanks to increased transaction volumes and wider adoption of HabariPay’s solutions among both individual users and small businesses. The subsidiary operates across three key areas: payment switching, value-added services, and merchant acquiring—all showing robust growth according to Agbaje.

GTCO’s acquisitions in East Africa (Uganda, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Kenya) have also proven successful, with each market growing at roughly 10 times their initial size and all contributing profitably to the group’s overall performance.

Contrasting Approaches to Growth

GTCO has deliberately pursued a selective expansion strategy, focusing on markets where it can achieve meaningful scale rather than pursuing growth for its own sake—a philosophy that contrasts with the venture-backed fintech model often prioritizing user acquisition and market share over immediate profitability.

While OPay and Moniepoint have built massive user bases and attracted significant valuations, they haven’t followed GTCO’s lead in publishing regular financial results. This lack of transparency has fueled debate about whether Nigeria’s leading fintechs are truly sustainable businesses or rely on continuous funding to maintain operations.

The conversation Agbaje initiated in 2024 continues to resonate as stakeholders consider what responsible growth looks like in the Nigerian digital payments landscape.