A pan-African fintech company known as Palmpay, operating in three countries, has appointed Femi Hanson as the new head of marketing and public relations for its Nigerian branch. Hanson brings with him five years of experience in fintech marketing, having previously led marketing teams at two Nigerian fintech companies, OPay and Moni.
Hanson’s role will involve leading Palmpay’s efforts to expand its operations in Nigeria, which is its largest market. The company boasts 35 million users and has successfully onboarded 1.2 million businesses.
Sofia Zab, Palmpay’s global chief marketing officer, expressed confidence in Hanson, citing his in-depth knowledge of the local market and his track record of running impactful campaigns that will help strengthen customer connections and further the company’s mission of promoting financial inclusion.
Palmpay made its entry into Nigeria in 2019 after securing a $40 million seed round investment from Tecno. This investment, in collaboration with Transsion Holdings, the parent company of Tecno, Infinix, and Itel, enabled Palmpay to pre-install its app on millions of smartphones sold by Africa’s leading smartphone seller. Additionally, the company offered discounted transfers to banks and free transfers to PalmPay wallets.
Palmpay’s digital lending business, featuring interest rates ranging from 15-30%, played a significant role in its rapid rise in popularity in Nigeria. The company also benefitted from Nigeria’s currency redesign policy in 2023, where Nigerians turned to fintech platforms like OPay and PalmPay following challenges faced by traditional banks with the surge in online transactions.
In a notable recognition, Palmpay was listed among the top 250 fintech companies by CNBC, outperforming competitors like OPay and Moniepoint. The selection criteria for the unranked list involved research conducted by the Statista team and information supplied by companies regarding their 2023 revenues, year-on-year sales growth, and total headcount.
Expressing his enthusiasm for joining Palmpay, Hanson stated, “Joining Palmpay at this exciting juncture in its journey is a great honor. I look forward to building on the company’s solid foundation and contributing to its mission of providing seamless financial solutions to millions of Nigerian consumers and businesses.”