Onafriq is closing Baxi, the agent banking business it bought in Nigeria in 2021. The payments company announced the wind-down on 16 October 2026. It blames the falling naira, rising inflation, instant bank transfers and a crowded market that squeezed margins. Onafriq says it is not leaving Nigeria. It will keep its cross-border payments network and its card issuing services.
The exit ends a bet that cash agents could drive financial inclusion in Africa’s largest economy. Onafriq, then called MFS Africa, agreed to buy Capricorn Digital Limited, the company behind Baxi, in October 2021. It was a 100% cash deal, and the price was never disclosed. Tekedia reports it closed in March 2022 after Central Bank of Nigeria approval. TechCabal reported at the time that Baxi had 90,000 agents. We could not find a current count. Onafriq kept investing in Baxi through 2023.
Then conditions changed. Onafriq says that from 2024 the naira’s fall and rising prices cut the number of deals agents handled and raised costs. At the same time, instant bank transfers changed how Nigerians move money, so fewer people needed an agent to deposit or withdraw cash. More agents entered the market, which pushed margins down. Onafriq’s own review found that the offline agent model no longer fit its long-term goals.
Founder and chief executive Dare Okoudjou said: “We entered Nigeria with conviction and commitment but did not achieve the outcome we set out for.” He called the closure a hard decision that affects the staff, agents and partners who built the network.
What happens next for those affected:
- Agents: Agents onboarded through Baxi are moving to another principal bank. They must transfer their funds to their preferred principal bank within 30 days.
- Staff: Staff whose jobs depend on agent banking will be consulted and will get support.
- Numbers: Onafriq has not said how many agents or staff are affected, or what the closure will cost.
The group’s numbers show the pressure. Condia reports that Onafriq’s 2024 revenue fell 7% to $79 million, from $85.6 million in 2023, citing regulatory filings. It names Nigeria as the company’s biggest market and ties the drop to the naira’s fall. Condia’s headline says the devaluation wiped $3.2 billion from payment volumes, but the article does not explain that figure, so we treat it with caution. Onafriq has not published Baxi’s own results.
Here is our own reading, not a finding from the sources. First, a business that earns in naira but reports in dollars has little room when the currency falls. Second, instant transfers did not just add a rival. They removed the reason for many cash trips. Third, a low-margin business gets worse as rivals multiply, because every extra agent thins the fee each one earns.
For founders and investors, the lesson is about where the fee lives. Onafriq is retreating to its main growth driver: linking domestic payment systems to a wider cross-border network. That business earns by moving money between countries, not by handing out cash in one. If you build for African payments, ask which part of the chain you own, and whether a currency fall or a new payment rail could erase it.
A caution on the sources. Onafriq’s account of why it failed is its own. We have no independent figures on Baxi’s profit, its agents today or the money invested. And Baxi is one operator in one market. Agent banking is not dead in Nigeria, but this exit shows how hard the economics have become for big, cash-heavy networks.
Sources: Nairametrics on the Baxi wind-down; Tekedia; The Condia on Onafriq shutting down Baxi; The Condia on Onafriq’s 2024 financial performance; TechCabal on the 2021 acquisition.
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