From Idea to $2M ARR: The PayForge Story
How three university friends transformed a frustration with payment infrastructure into one of Nigeria's fastest-growing fintech companies. An inside look at their journey through The Forge.
Adaeze Nwosu
Contributor
From Idea to $2M ARR: The PayForge Story
Three years ago, Emeka, Tunde, and Blessing were computer science students at the University of Lagos with a shared frustration: why was it so hard to accept payments as a small business in Nigeria?
Today, PayForge processes over ₦500 million in monthly transactions and employs 30 people. Here's how they did it.
The Spark
"We kept seeing small businesses—mama puts, okada riders, small shop owners—lose sales because they couldn't accept card or mobile payments easily," recalls Emeka, now CEO. "The existing solutions were too expensive, too complicated, or both."
The team started building in their final year, using evenings and weekends to code a prototype. It was rough, but it worked.
Entering The Forge
The turning point came when they applied to Ikenga Foundry's Incubation Program in 2023. "We thought we had a product," Blessing admits. "The Forge showed us we had a prototype with potential."
What The Forge Taught Them
- Customer obsession: "We spent the first month just talking to potential customers. No coding. It was uncomfortable but transformative."
- Unit economics: "We learned that our initial pricing model would bankrupt us within six months. The mentors helped us restructure before it was too late."
- Building vs. selling: "As engineers, we wanted to keep building features. The Forge taught us that a mediocre product that's selling beats a perfect product nobody knows about."
The Traction
Within six months of completing the program, PayForge had:
- 500 active merchants
- ₦50M monthly transaction volume
- A seed round from two prominent Nigerian VCs
Scaling Challenges
Growth brought its own problems. "At one point, our system crashed during a major sale day for several merchants," Tunde, the CTO, recalls. "We had to rebuild our entire architecture while the system was running. It was like changing the tires on a moving car."
The Forge network proved invaluable. "We got connected to a senior engineer at a major US payment company who helped us re-architect for scale. That connection saved us months of painful learning."
Where They Are Now
Today, PayForge:
- Processes ₦500M+ monthly
- Serves 5,000+ merchants
- Has raised $2.5M in funding
- Operates in 3 Nigerian states
Advice for Founders
Emeka's advice to founders considering The Forge: "Come with humility. You think you know what you're doing until you meet people who've actually done it. The best founders are the ones who listen."
Blessing adds: "And be ready to work harder than you've ever worked. The Forge isn't a shortcut—it's an accelerant. You still have to bring the fuel."
What's Next
PayForge is expanding to Ghana and Kenya in 2026, with plans to launch a merchant lending product later this year. "We're just getting started," Emeka says. "Nigeria's SME economy is massive and underserved. We're going to be the financial backbone for millions of businesses."
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