Hi, I’m Grace, and I'm a Legal Counsel at Moniepoint.

When I got the life-changing opportunity to join Moniepoint in July 2022, I was super pumped to join the team. During my recruitment process and the in-depth research I did prior to joining Moniepoint, one thing that stood out for me was the level of impact Moniepoint is making in Nigeria. In my mind, I visualised Moniepoint as this amazing blue fairy godmother who goes about sprinkling its awesome fairy dust on the underbanked in Nigeria and, in turn, spreading financial happiness. 

In the last two (2) years, my journey at Moniepoint has been marked with a lot of learning, growth, self-discovery, amazing intellectual challenges, and an opportunity to meet and form lifelong bonds with the brightest minds I have met in my life so far.   

At Moniepoint, we have a moderately sized in-house Legal Team of intelligent and compassionate people who come from different backgrounds and have diverse levels of experience. Excellence is our watchword in the legal team, and we always ensure that we provide top-notch legal support to all stakeholders within the Moniepoint Group.

In establishing a visual representation of how awesome my job is, I'll break down my tasks and everyday interactions as best as I can with minimal legalese.

What my job entails.

As a Legal Counsel, I provide legal support to various business lines and teams within the  Moniepoint Group. Such legal support includes but isn’t limited to:

• Drafting and reviewing various types of agreements;

• Drafting necessary terms and conditions of use for various products rolled out by the entities within the Moniepoint Group;

• Conducting requisite legal due diligence checks on prospective customers who have requested for the grant of a loan;

• Managing and overseeing the protection of Moniepoint’s intellectual property; and

• Providing general advice to the business on various aspects of the law on which clarity is sought.

Our main goal as a Legal team is to ensure that Moniepoint’s legal risk exposure is reduced to a bare minimum while providing excellent legal support. 

My favourite part of my job is drafting and reviewing agreements. In fact, I do believe my strengths lie in drafting and reviewing agreements. In doing this, there are some key factors to be considered depending on the type of transaction at hand, such as the obligations of the parties, commercial terms (i.e. fees and payment terms), duration of the transaction, the business’s position with regards to risk allocation and liability, indemnification provisions, conditions for termination of the transaction, governing law and dispute resolution (i.e. our preference on the laws of a specific country to be applied to the agreement/ transaction, and our preference on the specific courts/ mechanism through which disputes can be settled). 

The Law as a superpower

I like to tell people that my Law degree is a superpower, allowing me to think critically and propose practical solutions to simple and complex legal and commercial issues. 

The story behind my decision to study law is quite interesting, as this was due to the influence of my elder brother and the environment I grew up in. I was born and raised in an academic environment and spent the greater part of my life at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Osun State, Nigeria. My parents were members of staff at OAU until their retirement a few years ago, and this afforded me the golden opportunity of living in the OAU senior staff quarters, surrounded by academics and intellectuals.

My elder brother is a Lawyer, and he studied law at OAU. As a child, I would help my brother type out his assignments on the computer and sometimes read his school notes to satisfy my curiosity and learn what the fuss about being a Lawyer was all about. From this point on, I became very curious about the Law, and it's safe to say I was 65% decided on being a Lawyer. 

The defining moment for me to pursue a career in Law happened on my brother’s call to bar day when I followed him to the Supreme Court of Nigeria to write his name on the roll of legal practitioners in Nigeria. It was such a surreal moment for me, and in that moment, I was extremely proud of my brother and all he had achieved. I recall waiting for my brother in the lobby of the Supreme Court, and I saw a giant chandelier which looked absolutely divine. At that moment, I said to myself: “I want to belong here”. And that was the moment that entirely defined my life and career. I recall I was about 15 years old at this time, and I feel incredibly lucky to have discovered my purpose at such a young age.    

Doing work that matters across different teams

I’m a strong believer in doing work that matters and creating impact through one’s work. This has been a key highlight for me in my journey at Moniepoint. For example, I see our impact in Nigeria, and it makes me so happy and fulfilled. I’m always smiling every time I see or use a Moniepoint point of sale terminal and feel a sense of pride in such moments. 

In the Legal team, we run a legal business partner structure where different Legal Counsels are assigned to various business lines and departments in the Moniepoint Group. This means I provide support to a couple of teams; however, there are a few teams that my work with has been quite notable for me. This is because of the impact their work has had on the company at large, and also because working with these teams has given me the chance to challenge myself intellectually. These teams are the Product team, Mergers and Acquisition team, and the Business Loans teams. 

Products

I enjoy working with the Product team during the process of building/ rolling out a new product and I find this exciting. 

Working with the Project Manager in charge of a product or a new update allows me to understand the product’s details, including how/why we built it, its dynamics, and how it would generate revenue. 

I use all of this product knowledge to put together the appropriate legally sound terms and conditions of use and agreements for such products.

Mergers and Acquisition

Another team I absolutely enjoy working with is the Mergers & Acquisition team. The work done here is very crucial to the growth and expansion of the Moniepoint Group. Working with this team on diverse complex transactions has pushed me out of my comfort zone, granted me the opportunity to learn a lot, mentally challenge myself, and also prove myself and showcase my legal skills.  

Business Loans

The work being done by the Business Loans team sits under the purview of Moniepoint Microfinance Bank Limited (Moniepoint MFB), an entity duly licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide financial services in Nigeria. 

Revenue generation is a crucial factor and requirement in every organisation, and at Moniepoint MFB, the Business Loans team is doing a fantastic job in this area. Our loan product is one of the most impactful in the market, with an NPL that's way below 1%. Working with the team and being the Legal Counsel assigned to the loans business is one thing I do not take for granted, and I am incredibly proud of, as I actively get to see the way our product impacts business and lives and also helps to build the Nigerian economy.  

My day looks like this:

My day typically starts with me going through my emails to catch up on requests for legal support because even when you're sleeping, the emails don’t stop coming in. After sorting through what I have pending and what has been added to my to-do list from the previous day, I respond to the urgent emails, create my to-do list for the day, and then dive right into the deliverables for the day.

I usually get pulled into various meetings with both internal and external stakeholders and attend these meetings in my capacity as a Legal Counsel, ensuring that necessary guidance is provided on legal issues that may come up during discussions and negotiations. 

In executing my tasks, I make sure I bounce ideas off other members of the Legal team, as no one is an island, and you definitely cannot know it all. I’m a firm believer in collaborating with my colleagues and sharing my knowledge, and I'm always open to superior arguments.  

Working in the Legal team at Moniepoint has been a wonderful experience filled with learning, growth, and purpose. I have had the opportunity to be led by a great Line Manager and leader, and to be surrounded by intelligent and amazing teammates. 

Want to be like me and apply your legal prowess in the Financial Services industry? Check out our careers page for a Legal Counsel role.