Call us @+234 806 558 2598
Meet the Visionary Behind BMONI: How Jorn Lyseggen is Revolutionizing Finance for Africa’s Borderless Generation
Meet the Visionary Behind BMONI: How Jorn Lyseggen is Redefining How Africa Saves, Spends, and Grows Wealth
In the ever-evolving world of African fintech, one name stands out, Jorn Lyseggen, the Norwegian entrepreneur who built a $500 million global company from scratch and then turned his attention to empowering African innovators. After years of mentoring thousands of founders through MEST Africa, Lyseggen is back in the arena, this time with BMONI, a bold new venture designed to reimagine how Africa’s young, mobile generation manages money.
For Lyseggen, BMONI isn’t just another fintech startup, it’s a financial revolution built around AI, trust, and stablecoins, aimed squarely at the continent’s most connected generation. And where better to launch this than Nigeria, Africa’s innovation powerhouse?
From Norway to Nigeria: A Journey of Vision and Impact
Jorn Lyseggen is no stranger to building big things. He first gained global recognition as the founder of Meltwater, a media intelligence firm that started as a small startup in Norway and grew into a global powerhouse, now generating over $500 million in annual revenue with offices in more than 50 countries.
But it was his founding of MEST Africa in 2008 that made him a household name across the continent’s tech ecosystem. Through MEST, Lyseggen has trained over 2,000 African entrepreneurs, many of whom have gone on to launch groundbreaking startups across Africa’s tech hubs, from Accra to Nairobi, Lagos to Cape Town. Now, he’s bringing his vision full circle. With BMONI, Lyseggen wants to fix one of Africa’s most persistent challenges, the difficulty of moving, saving, and spending money across borders.
At its core, BMONI is more than a digital wallet, it’s a bridge between Africa and the global economy. The platform allows users to open multi-currency accounts, save in U.S. dollars, and spend using virtual or physical Mastercard debit cards accepted by over 100 million merchants worldwide. What makes it even more remarkable is what’s under the hood. Every BMONI transaction is powered by stablecoins, digital currencies pegged to assets like the U.S. dollar, ensuring speed, reliability, and security. During a live demo in Lagos, transactions through BMONI were processed almost instantly, “as fast as light,” as one observer described.
And according to Lyseggen, it’s only the beginning. “There are two technologies that will change lives everywhere,” he said at the launch. “AI and stablecoins. Combine the two, and you can create a new kind of bank, one that’s radically better.”
Why Nigeria? Because It’s Where Innovation Happens First
Launching in Nigeria wasn’t a coincidence. Lyseggen describes it as “the natural first stop for any new financial model for Africa.”
The data backs him up. Nigeria is one of the most active markets in the world for digital payments and stablecoins, with more than $20 billion worth of stablecoin transactions recorded last year alone. Its youthful, tech-savvy population continues to push the boundaries of digital innovation, making it fertile ground for BMONI’s next-gen banking model.
In Nigeria’s booming fintech scene, trust is everything. Years of failed investment schemes, wallet freezes, and crypto bans have left many users wary. Lyseggen understands that, and he’s made trust and transparency the foundation of BMONI. “We’ll earn trust not through marketing,” he says, “but through performance, transparent fees, and reliable service.”
BMONI’s technology gives users complete control over their wallets. Even the company itself can’t access a user’s funds, a rare promise in fintech. The platform uses AI-enhanced biometrics, replacing passwords with secure facial or fingerprint verification. Behind that innovation are 22 patented technologies that turn biometric identifiers into cryptographic keys, meaning your money truly belongs to you, and only you. Lyseggen calls it “financial sovereignty backed by technology.”
Operating across Africa’s complex financial landscape is no small feat. Despite Nigeria’s past restrictions on cryptocurrency transactions, the country remains one of the world’s most vibrant crypto markets, accounting for $59 billion in virtual currency volume between 2023 and 2024. To stay compliant, BMONI partners with licensed financial institutions and SEC-regulated exchanges to handle fiat conversions and transfers. “We don’t offer services like this without being fully compliant,” Lyseggen explains. “Our partners hold all the necessary licenses, from virtual asset service providers to SEC-licensed exchanges.”
Backed by Silicon Valley’s Finest
BMONI isn’t just backed by vision, it’s backed by capital and experience. The company’s investors include seasoned Silicon Valley venture firms, led by Altos Ventures, known for supporting successful fintech projects across the globe. Lyseggen emphasizes that these investors were chosen not for hype, but for their long-term commitment. With a lean team of just 25 engineers and operators spread across Lagos, Accra, Oslo, and San Francisco, BMONI combines startup agility with global perspective, a winning formula for innovation.
When asked how he envisions success five years from now, Lyseggen’s response is both humble and ambitious: “Five years from now, we want BMONI to be one of the most effective and most loved banks in Nigeria. We don’t see ourselves as a fintech company, we see ourselves as a bank replacement.”
And indeed, that’s what BMONI represents, a redefinition of banking itself, merging the power of AI, stablecoins, and trust to serve Africa’s fast-growing digital generation. For the millions of young Africans who live borderless lives, this isn’t just another app. It’s the future of finance, and that future, fittingly, has started in Nigeria.
