In late 2015, there was a team of builders at an emerging startup called Push CV. They were weeks away from Christmas, running out of money, with no choice but to consider downsizing the team. On December 31st, one of them spotted a tweet about a naira-denominated savings app idea. Then, they knew they could build it.
Two weeks later, in January 2016, Piggyvest (then PiggyBank) launched to address what seemed like a simple problem: young Nigerians had no friction-free way to save money. A decade on, with over 6 million active users, that initial solution has evolved into a financial ecosystem.
In the new Piggyvest @ 10 documentary, released April 27, 2026, the documentary captured the fintech’s evolution through the eyes of founders, early employees, and users whose lives changed because they found a reason to stop spending and start saving.
Survival in a volatile market
Longevity in Nigerian fintech is not guaranteed. Since Piggyvest’s launch, the ecosystem has seen multiple platforms rise and collapse, founders shift direction, and entire business models questioned by regulators.
Within months of launch, the team discovered critical security vulnerabilities. Users had linked other people’s cards to accounts. OTP protections need reinforcement. Rather than push forward, Piggyvest made the decision to shut down sign-ups temporarily. In March 2016, just three months after launch, the app went offline to fix these issues.
“We had all this hype,” one of the founders, Odun Eweniyi, reflected in the documentary. “But we had to interrupt everything and tell people we’re going to stop, we’re going to rebuild, and we’re coming back.” That pause taught the team everything they needed to know about security, liquidity, and treasury management before relaunching in April.
Later came the regulatory maze. Nigerian regulators issued a cease order on the use of the “PiggyBank” name because the company lacked a commercial banking license. Rather than fight or flee, the founders sat down and rebranded to Piggyvest, a name they had already acquired, and one that naturally extended into the investment services they were planning anyway.
The cultural shift
One user recalls being sceptical about putting money anywhere. Bills piled up each month. Rent felt impossible. Then came a house-savings feature notification. “Something shifted,” she says. By year’s end, she had saved more than her annual rent. Over six years, Piggyvest became her partner through birthdays, medical procedures, and personal investments. Another user describes how the app transformed his relationship with money: moving from survival mode to intentional financial planning.
These stories point to a market-wide shift in how young Nigerians think about savings. A culture formed around the brand. Users became evangelists on seeing discipline rewarded through compound interest, through clear goal tracking, the SafeLock feature that made money untouchable until a set date and other features.
By 2021, Piggyvest had introduced the “Wealth Accrued” report, an annual ranking system styled after secondary school grades (A1, B2, C5) to gamify financial discipline. Scoring an A1 meant consistency and intention, triggering a culture where users would announce their grades every year’s end. While it just hit the 10-year mark, the fintech giant is committed to shaping culture, financial discipline and the larger finance ecosystem across the country.
Over the next decade, Piggyvest is planning product releases in insurance, newer investment products, and expanded services. To watch the full documentary detailing the years so far, click here
