Nigerian financial services company Moniepoint has offered employees in its engineering and product teams five months’ salary to leave voluntarily as part of a restructuring exercise expected to be completed by the end of December 2026.

The restructuring, announced internally on Monday, October 19, will introduce smaller teams with responsibility for developing and operating products from start to finish, alongside new platform architect roles to oversee shared technology systems.

According to two employees with direct knowledge of the process, some existing positions will become redundant. However, the company has maintained that the exercise should not be regarded as a layoff.

Moniepoint Offers Voluntary Exit Package

Under the arrangement, affected employees were offered five months’ salary to resign voluntarily. The company may reject applications from workers whose skills it still needs, according to the employees, who requested anonymity.

The voluntary exit window closed on Friday, October 23, while employees were expected to be informed whether their positions would be affected between November 2 and November 11.

Moniepoint has not disclosed the number of employees who could be affected by the restructuring.

In a statement, the company said the exercise formed part of its regular strategic review of operations as it prepares for its next stage of growth.

It explained that the new structure would consist of platform groups made up of smaller, focused product-area teams, each responsible for its products from development through operation.

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Engineering, Product Management Roles Affected

The restructuring affects employees working in backend engineering, frontend engineering, mobile development, quality assurance and product management.

The changes will apply across the countries where Moniepoint operates.

Under the proposed structure, smaller teams will have greater autonomy and clearer responsibility for delivering and maintaining products. Platform architects will oversee shared technology systems supporting those products.

The company said the approach was intended to reduce layers of coordination and approval, improve operational reliability and accelerate product development.

Moniepoint also said some existing positions would no longer be required, while new roles would be created in other areas.

Before confirming any redundancy, the company said it would consider affected employees for available positions elsewhere in the business. Redundancy consultations would begin only where suitable alternative roles could not be identified.

Company Introduces Employee Assessment Process

Employees will be assessed using written criteria covering delivery and adaptability, quality of work, performance records and length of service.

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Engineering leaders will score employees, while the human resources team will review the assessments across teams.

The company said it would examine available positions before confirming whether an employee’s role had become redundant.

The process comes as Moniepoint seeks to reorganise its workforce around smaller teams with end-to-end responsibility for individual products.

Moniepoint Continues Expansion Despite Restructuring

Founded in 2015 as TeamApt, Moniepoint became a unicorn in October 2024 after raising $110 million in a Series C funding round.

The company has expanded from a payments business into a financial services group offering payments, banking, credit and business management products.

It says its subsidiaries process more than $400 billion in digital payments annually.

In March 2026, Moniepoint acquired a 78 per cent stake in Kenya’s Sumac Microfinance Bank. In August, it phased out MonieWorld, its United Kingdom remittance product, less than 18 months after its launch.

Despite the planned restructuring, the company has continued recruiting. One employee said Moniepoint hired more than 120 people in October, while another said it had recruited several departmental heads from outside Nigeria.

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In May, Chief Executive Officer Tosin Eniolorunda said the company was struggling to fill approximately 500 vacancies, later clarifying that the shortage involved senior technical talent.

AI Debate Raises Questions About Future Hiring

The restructuring comes amid broader discussions about how artificial intelligence and new organisational models could change staffing needs in the technology sector.

According to one employee, Moniepoint discussed internally earlier in 2026 how AI could streamline product management. However, the company did not identify artificial intelligence as a driver of the current restructuring.

Other technology companies have also reduced their workforces while pursuing smaller teams and operational efficiencies.

In February, Block, the parent company of Square and Cash App, announced plans to cut approximately 4,000 jobs, representing about 40 per cent of its workforce. Chief Executive Officer Jack Dorsey linked the decision to AI tools and a shift towards smaller, flatter teams.

In Africa, Branch laid off employees in Kenya and Nigeria in May, while Jumia announced plans to cut approximately 200 jobs as it incorporated AI into areas including logistics, finance and marketing.

TechCabal Insights found that restructuring was the most frequently cited reason for layoffs among African technology companies between January 2023 and March 2026.

Moniepoint’s restructuring reflects the wider effort among technology businesses to reorganise operations, improve productivity and determine how best to deploy their resources while continuing to expand.