Across Nigeria’s open markets, kiosks and neighbourhood shops, small business owners remain the engine room of the economy, yet many are trapped in a cycle of low margins, weak visibility and declining customer trust. Despite accounting for more than half of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product, most small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) earn less than $12,000 annually, according to industry estimates.
It is this contradiction, high economic contribution, low financial reward, that a new technology platform, Pennyfy, is trying to address.
Founded by Eyitayo A., alongside co-founders Stephen Chukwuma and Emmanuel Ibiang, Pennyfy positions itself as an AI-powered shopping assistant designed to restore trust in everyday commerce while giving small vendors the digital tools to compete more fairly.
“At the heart of Nigeria’s digital commerce problem is trust,” Eyitayo A., founder of Pennyfy, said in an interview. “Consumers are afraid of being defrauded, not receiving what they paid for, or having their payment information compromised. At the same time, merchants fear chargebacks, fake buyers and unpaid deliveries. That mutual suspicion slows everything down.”
According to him, this trust deficit explains why many Nigerians still prefer cash-on-delivery or informal transactions, even as digital platforms multiply. “Until that trust problem is solved, the digital economy will continue to underperform,” he added.
Pennyfy’s model is built around creating what its founders describe as a “closed community of accountability,” where transactions are traceable and payments are secured until delivery is confirmed.
For small business owners, the platform offers low commission fees, no subscription charges, logistics support, and a dashboard that tracks sales performance and customer engagement. Vendors are also required to verify their identities using CAC registration or National Identification Numbers (NIN), a move aimed at increasing transparency.
Stephen Chukwuma, co-founder, explained that the goal is not just to bring traders online, but to give them clarity over their operations. “Most small vendors don’t actually know which products perform best or which customers are repeat buyers,” he said. “When you digitise those insights, decision-making improves, waste reduces, and profitability follows.”
Beyond local sales, Pennyfy is also targeting cross-border opportunities, particularly among Nigerians in the diaspora. Emmanuel Ibiang, another co-founder, noted that remittances already pump billions of dollars into Nigeria annually, but much of that money does not directly expand local businesses.
“Nigerians abroad send money home, but imagine if they could directly buy goods and services from verified local vendors,” Ibiang said. “That shifts spending from consumption to enterprise growth.”
For consumers, Pennyfy promises price comparison in real time, receipt storage, spending tracking and the ability to compare products across multiple vendors. Crucially, vendors are only paid after customers confirm satisfaction.
Payments are held in escrow until both parties confirm completion. Where disputes arise, Pennyfy steps in to investigate and resolve them within 72 hours.
“This payment structure forces accountability,” Eyitayo said. “If a vendor wants to get paid, they must deliver what they promised. If a customer raises a legitimate concern, it is addressed before money changes hands.”
The founders argue that this approach redefines fairness in online transactions, particularly for informal traders who have historically struggled to prove credibility online.
While technology is central to Pennyfy’s offering, the founders say the bigger challenge lies in culture, not software.
Eyitayo pointed to the familiar story of family-owned shops and small businesses that once paid school fees and sustained households across generations. “Those businesses built many of us,” he said. “But today, we return home with digital skills and global exposure, yet we don’t channel that knowledge back into upgrading those same businesses.”
According to him, Pennyfy aims to bridge that gap by helping vendors create digital footprints, from content creation to Google and Bing business listings, and connecting them to new markets.
“It’s not just about selling online,” he said. “It’s about visibility, structure and long-term sustainability.”
As gathered, given the acceleration of Africa’s digital transformation, Pennyfy’s founders see the platform evolving into a major cross-border marketplace linking African businesses with diaspora consumers worldwide.
According to the founder, “In five years, our ambition is clear: we would have deepened the trust SMEs operators reposed in us in bridging the gap between grassroots traders and global buyers, proving that fairness, accountability and technology can coexist in everyday trade. “In a time when every naira matters,” Eyitayo said, “trust may be the most valuable currency of all.”