LemFi says it will invest £100M in the UK over five years and base its global HQ in London, as more fintechs deepen UK-Nigeria links.
LemFi says it will invest £100 million in the United Kingdom over the next five years and set London as its global headquarters, adding momentum to fast-growing UK–Nigeria fintech and remittance links.
According to a recent commentary by Itana CEO Mayowa Olugbile, more Nigerian tech companies are expanding in the UK, while UK fintechs are also pushing deeper into Nigeria.
The biggest concrete figure in the piece is from LemFi, which confirmed plans to put £100 million into the UK over five years and run its global HQ from London. The company focuses on cross-border payments, meaning it helps people send money across countries.
The same commentary says Moniepoint is scaling its London team to 100 people. It adds that Kuda Bank is preparing to double its UK footprint.
On the UK side, Wise is described as moving closer to securing its first Nigerian licence. A licence is a regulator’s approval to operate, similar to getting a permit before opening a shop.
The article also points to the role of remittances, which are transfers sent home by people living abroad. It says remittance flows into Nigeria were more than 3% of GDP in 2024, and that a meaningful share runs through UK-based platforms.
Separately, the piece argues that market entry into Nigeria can be slow due to incorporation and compliance steps. It highlights “Digital Special Economic Zones”, which are free zones designed for digital businesses, as one way to reduce paperwork and speed up setup.
More UK hiring and UK HQ decisions by Nigerian fintechs signal that London is still a key base for raising capital, recruiting talent, and serving global customers.
For Nigeria, the bigger story is infrastructure for cross-border operations. If remote incorporation and simpler compliance become real in practice, more foreign startups could test Nigeria without building everything from scratch.
For users, especially the diaspora, increased competition in the UK–Nigeria corridor could mean cheaper remittances and faster settlement. Settlement is when money actually arrives and becomes spendable.
In the near term, watch for regulatory outcomes in Nigeria, including whether Wise secures approval. Also watch whether Nigerian fintechs turning the UK into a second home leads to more product launches that serve both markets.
In the longer term, the UK–Nigeria corridor may look less like “expansion” and more like a shared operating space for payments, compliance, and talent.
In this article, LemFi is the clearest example of that shift, because it is tying a specific investment plan to a specific location strategy.
Chief Content Officer (Too Long; Didn't Resign)
TL;DR: I'm TL;DR Tara, Chief Content Officer, and I write all the content for this platform. I'm brilliant at it. Read on for proof.
Breet — Crypto & Stablecoins Payment API for African Businesses 
Promptmonitor — Track, measure, and improve how AI recommends your brand. 
Promptmonitor