“Digital payments have transformed Nigeria’s food and beverage industry into an $11.09 billion market (2025), reducing cash dependence, enabling food delivery platforms, and providing access to credit. By 2030, the sector is projected to reach $19.31 billion, driven by fintech integration into everyday operations.”
So says an industry report titled “What It Takes to Feed Nigeria Every Day: The Payment Story Behind Its Food Service Industry,” prepared by fintech company Moniepoint. The report examined the evolution of Nigeria’s food service sector over four decades, highlighting how the adoption of real-time payments, business management tools and data-driven financial services is reshaping how restaurants, quick-service operators and other food businesses operate. It noted that digital infrastructure is helping move the sector away from a largely cash-based operating model towards a more connected commercial ecosystem.
Having historically relied on cash transactions left food and beverage businesses vulnerable to theft, accounting errors, and revenue leakages. These problems alongside the problems of settlement delays, and unreliable confirmation, have largely been resolved by the adoption of digital payment platforms, which provide instant settlement and automated confirmation.
Nigeria’s food service market has expanded from traditional restaurants and eateries into a broader digital economy that now includes food delivery platforms, cloud kitchens, and technology-enabled restaurant operations. Online food delivery reached $1.04 billion in 2024, creating new revenue streams, with projections of continued double-digit growth. Cloud kitchens operate without dining spaces, enabled by seamless digital ordering and payments.
Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) like Chicken Republic and Tantalizers have not been left out of the action. Terminal usage in QSRs surged by 2,823%, showing how payment infrastructure underpins expansion.
Operators in food industry have traditionally, largely been informal businesses and have thus often struggled to secure expansion capital despite having strong daily sales because lenders lacked reliable information about their cash flows. Digital payment histories are changing that by allowing these businesses to demonstrate revenue patterns through transaction records. Mobile money and QR codes in particular, allow small vendors to accept payments without bank accounts.
Transaction-based lending allows restaurants to access working capital without physical collateral. This is crucial given Nigeria’s $32.2 billion Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) financing gap, especially for women-owned businesses. The Moniepoint report highlighted that women account for 86.8 per cent of businesses in Nigeria’s food services industry, making it one of the country’s most female-dominated industries. By using transaction activity rather than only physical assets, digital finance platforms are creating new ways to assess business performance and creditworthiness. The shift is also moving beyond payment acceptance into broader business management.
Digital payments are having an impact on the food industry beyond ease of payments. When integrated with inventory, procurement, and analytics, as businesses gain real-time oversight of sales and stock, reducing under-reporting and losses. This could help smaller food operators build more sustainable businesses and scale beyond single locations.
It isn’t all joy for the food industry and digital payments, as there are challenges and risks. Smaller roadside vendors may struggle with adoption due to cost or lack of awareness. Payment delays still occur during festive surges in tandem with spotty network coverage. Increased reliance on digital systems raises risks of fraud and data breaches.
Notwithstanding, deeper fintech integration (e.g. Embedding payments into supply chain management and recipe procurement), alongside rising urbanization and smartphone penetration, will ensure that digital payments drive food delivery and QSR growth further.
