Africa gets first manufacturers’ bank as Niteon targets $200bn export market

Africa’s long-neglected manufacturers may finally have a bank of their own. Niteon, the Nigerian-founded digital export marketplace, has unveiled Niteon Capital, a neobank built exclusively to serve factories and exporters across the continent.

The launch is a bold attempt to solve what industry leaders have long described as the biggest bottleneck in African trade: finance. While traditional banks lend to large corporates or chase retail customers, small and mid-sized manufacturers have often been left stranded—unable to fund purchase orders, upgrade machinery, or scale to meet global demand.

“African manufacturers are doing the hard work, but they’re being underserved by traditional banks,” said Tony Nwose, Niteon’s chief executive and co-founder. “There’s no financial infrastructure built for them. Niteon Capital changes that.”

Banking designed for exporters

The new bank is not a general-purpose fintech. Its entire design is tailored to manufacturers. Services include:
Invoice and procurement financing, helping factories fulfill large orders without being trapped by cash flow gaps.
Sharia-compliant credit, opening access to ethical financing models for northern Nigeria and Islamic markets.
Export wallet accounts with tax benefits, multi-currency support, and even carbon credit earnings.
Infrastructure loans for upgrading machinery, logistics, or facilities to meet international standards.

These products sit within Niteon’s growing ecosystem, which already connects verified African producers in agriculture, fabrics, and minerals with buyers across the US, UK, Canada, and South Asia.

From marketplace to financial infrastructure

Founded by Nwose and Daniel Chukwuemelie, Niteon has rapidly built global recognition, recently securing an FDA Global Partner License to ease African exports into the United States. Now, with Niteon Capital, the company is making the leap from marketplace to full export infrastructure provider.

“We’re not just scaling a platform,” Chukwuemelie said. “We’re building the financial engine behind Africa’s industrial growth story.”

Positioned for scale

Backed by Seedstars, Tomi Davis, TVC Labs, Zenith Bank, and the Development Bank of Nigeria, Niteon is preparing to raise $1.5 million in equity and $5 million in debt to fund the bank’s rollout, deepen AI integration, and expand licensing. Its target is ambitious: onboarding 20,000 manufacturers by the fourth quarter of 2025.

For a continent where exports are estimated at $200 billion annually, the potential market is vast. More importantly, the company argues, the manufacturers’ bank could mark a turning point in how African industry is financed—closing the gap between the continent’s productive capacity and global demand.

“This is not just another fintech product,” Nwose said. “It’s a blueprint for how Africa will finance its own industrial future—from the factory floor to global warehouses.”