The business of being outside in Nigeria

It’s almost that time of year again. Flights are being booked, concert line-ups are out, people are already debating where to visit and where to avoid. Detty December is almost upon us, and Nigeria is gearing up for a month-long run of being outside.

While Detty December lies ahead, one of my fondest memories this year happened in a bar. On 19 July, 2026, I was crammed into a small bar somewhere off Admiralty Way, watching two teams battle to become World Champions. After a while, it got hard to focus on cheering for my team between the spicy pepper soup, the drinks and the banter with everyone around me. 

The bar, however, managed to keep up with it all: the people, the orders, the payments, waiters squeezed between tables and the buzz all around. 

I stayed long after the match ended, and that’s when I saw the business behind it all. Yes, they sell drinks and pepper soup, but the bar is simply a business built on people coming back.

I’ll explain. 

When you think of nightlife in Nigeria, especially in December, the big names come to mind: clubs with queues outside, places that need a reservation, or sometimes someone who knows someone.

But, as with a lot of things, that’s just one side of the story; there’s a bigger picture beyond the ones we see on our instagram timeline.

In 2025, over 27,000 bars, lounges and clubs using Moniepoint processed 3 transactions every second, amounting to over N900 billion in that year. Our community nightlife case study also shows that in the 2024 Detty December season, tables at some clubs cost as much as ₦1.2 million a night. Compared to the bars and the little spots in corners around your neighbourhood, these are two very different sides of nightlife compared to the bar I went to. 

Take a walk down Adeniran Ogunsanya in Surulere, Lagos, close to midnight, and you’ll see it for yourself. Plastic tables and chairs line the pavement; you’ll see people committed to their spot. These spots fit into everyday life: they’re a short walk from home or work, open most days of the week, and, most of all, they don’t demand anything extra from the customer. 

But staying open consistently takes more work than most customers ever see. Every night, at least 54, 000 people clock in to keep the nightlife industry running. At Amuludun Kitchen in Ipaja, a single pot of fish pepper soup takes about 45 minutes, and on a busy night the kitchen gets through 15 to 16 pots and up to 12 goats. When the crowds build over the weekends, many local bars take on 30 to 50% more staff just to keep up. 

These businesses aren't just part of society; they’re embedded in its core, and their growth is now tied to society's well-being.

When these businesses grow, they rarely spend only on stock. According to our case study, a significant share of the loans bars and lounges request goes toward renovations, furniture, lighting, sound systems, and layout. They invest in the experiences that make people want to stay. In a city full of choices, how a place feels is part of why people come back, and we’re helping these businesses invest in that.

Nights like these depend on many moving parts, one of which is something no one ever thinks about until it goes wrong: payments.

I went to a fast food restaurant recently (yes, I go out a lot) and learnt that it has a three-minute policy: every customer should have their food in their hands or on their table within three minutes. Any longer, and it isn’t really fast food. 

Bars and lounges run on a similar unspoken rule. People expect speed every step of the way: the food, the drinks, and especially on the way out. Customers can’t afford to wait, and businesses can’t afford to keep them waiting. Yet one of the slowest moments of the night is usually during payments. 

As the financial infrastructure of businesses in Nigeria and across Africa, that’s the problem we solve. In 2022, we gave every Moniepoint POS terminal its own dedicated account number, so customers can transfer directly to the terminal and keep the promise every good business makes: no one waits longer than they should. on.

What these businesses offer is simple and rare: anyone can walk in, anyone can become a member of their community. Their work feeds a much bigger economy: 54,000 people working every day, from cooks to waiters, cleaners and an entire ecosystem. Their work means business for butchers, distributors and many more. 

Our job is to ensure that this ecosystem moves seamlessly, from the customer paying after a night out to the business owner placing an order for the next night; we can’t afford to let the business fall behind in any way. These businesses have earned their communities' trust by always being there; our job is to be just as dependable. 

Read the full case study on the business of community nightlife in Nigeria here.