How 3 Big Boys Set Up Piggyvest

This is the story of how 3 Entrepreneurs turned a traditional wooden savings box into a financial platform used by millions of Nigerians. Behind the fame, expensive clothes, luxury cars, music deals and glamorous lifestyles of many entertainers lies a question that does not always get enough attention: how well do they manage the money they make?

In the Entertainment industry, success can come quickly, but it does not always guarantee a steady income. A musician may enjoy a successful year filled with hit songs, shows, endorsements and brand deals, only to experience a quieter period when bookings become fewer. An actor may earn well from a major production but wait months before landing another lucrative role. Content creators and influencers may secure several brand partnerships one month and have little paid work the next.

This is why saving has become an important conversation for entertainers and other young Nigerians. One platform that has become part of that conversation is PiggyVest, the digital savings and investment platform that allows users to put money aside for different goals.

But the story of PiggyVest is not just about celebrities and the money they save. It is also about three entrepreneurs who identified an everyday problem and built a business around solving it. Their journey began with another startup, a difficult period in business and a photograph of a traditional wooden savings box that would eventually inspire a financial technology company serving millions of people.

The three publicly recognised co-founders are Somto Ifezue, Odunayo Eweniyi and Joshua Chibueze. Before PiggyVest came into existence, the trio had worked together on PushCV, a recruitment startup designed to help connect job seekers with employers. Their experience building a business together would later become an important foundation for their next venture.

Somto Ifezue is a technology entrepreneur who became PiggyVest’s Chief Executive Officer. His work on technology products and earlier startup ventures helped bring the original savings idea to life. He had worked on businesses before PiggyVest, including an earlier discount-card venture and PushCV. These experiences exposed the team to the realities of building products, understanding customers and trying to grow a business in Nigeria’s developing technology ecosystem.

Odunayo Eweniyi, who serves as PiggyVest’s Chief Operating Officer, has become one of the company’s most visible co-founders. A graduate of Computer Engineering from Covenant University, she was involved in the team’s earlier ventures and helped build the systems and operations needed to turn the original idea into a functioning business. Her role has gone beyond simply helping to launch the product; she has been central to the company’s growth, operations and public communication about its journey.

Joshua Chibueze, the company’s chief marketing officer, was instrumental in bringing the original idea to the team and helping communicate the product to potential users. The story of PiggyVest’s beginning is closely tied to a question he raised in early 2016: could the familiar Nigerian practice of saving money in a kolo be recreated online?

Together, the three founders combined their experience in technology, business operations and marketing to develop a product around a habit millions of Nigerians already understood. Their work has also been recognised beyond the company. In 2022, Endeavor selected Ifezue, Eweniyi and Chibueze as Endeavor Entrepreneurs, recognising their work building a growing financial services business.

The idea that brought them together was born at a time when their first major business was facing difficulties. In December 2015, PushCV had run into financial challenges, forcing the team to reduce its workforce. The founders were trying to work out what came next when a simple story appeared on social media.

On December 31, 2015, a woman shared photographs of money she had accumulated by saving N1,000 every day in a traditional wooden box. For many Nigerians, the practice was familiar. A kolo was a simple way to keep money away from daily spending until there was enough to meet a goal. People used wooden boxes, tins and other containers to save for school fees, household purchases, business needs and personal plans.

The photographs captured something beyond the amount of money saved. They showed what could happen when a person developed a routine and resisted the temptation to spend what had been put aside.

Chibueze shared the story with his co-founders, and a conversation began about whether they could digitise the traditional method. Eweniyi later explained that the team wanted to preserve the personal discipline of the wooden savings box while making it possible for people to save through their phones.

The idea was simple: if people could put money away without having to keep it physically in a box, and if the platform made it easier to stick to their goals, more people might develop a regular savings habit.

The founders decided to build it. The first $12,000 spent on the project came from money generated by PushCV, according to Eweniyi’s account of the company’s early history. Piggybank.ng launched on January 7, 2016, as a savings-only platform.

The early days were not filled with millions of customers. In fact, the company had only about 700 users by the end of its first year, according to Eweniyi’s account. That was far below the 1,000 users the team had initially hoped to attract, but the founders believed the idea had potential.

They also learnt that building a financial platform required more than putting an attractive product online. Users needed to trust the service with their money. The company had to improve its technology, respond to customer feedback and develop the systems needed to handle savings responsibly.

Word of mouth became important to its growth. People who found the platform useful told others about it, and the idea spread among Nigerians who wanted a more structured way to save. Rather than depending entirely on expensive advertising, the business benefited from users sharing their experiences and recommending it to friends.

The founders continued developing the product and raising funds to expand the business. In 2018, Piggybank.ng secured a reported $1.1 million funding round, which helped support its expansion and product development. By then, the company was moving beyond the early stage of proving that Nigerians would use a digital version of the traditional savings box.

In April 2019, the company changed its name from Piggybank.ng to PiggyVest and expanded its services to include direct investment opportunities alongside savings. The rebranding reflected a broader ambition: to help people not only keep money aside but also explore ways to grow their finances.

The platform gradually developed different options for people with different financial needs. Users could set savings targets, separate money for specific purposes and, depending on the product, lock funds away for a chosen period. Investment offerings created another avenue for users, although investments carry risks that differ from ordinary savings and should be assessed carefully.

The company’s growth has been substantial. In its tenth-anniversary communications in April 2026, PiggyVest reported that it had served more than six million users and disbursed over ¦ 3 trillion over its first decade. These are figures reported by the company and cover its wider customer base, not celebrities alone. Nevertheless, they show how far the original idea had travelled from the early days when the founders were hoping to attract their first thousand users.

So, how does all this connect to celebrities?

For entertainers, saving can be particularly important because their earnings are often unpredictable. A musician may earn substantial fees from concerts and endorsements during a busy period, but those opportunities may not continue at the same pace throughout the year. An actor may receive a large payment for a production and then wait for the next project. Content creators can experience similar changes as brand campaigns come and go.

The pressure to maintain a public image can add to the challenge. Once an entertainer becomes successful, there may be expectations to upgrade their lifestyle, buy a car, support relatives, help friends, invest in businesses and appear to be doing well at all times. Some of these expenses are necessary, while others come from social pressure and the demands of being a public figure.

Without a financial plan, even a good income can disappear quickly.

One entertainer who has publicly discussed using PiggyVest is former Big Brother Naija housemate Saga. In an interview published on the platform’s blog, he said he had been using it since its early days and saving as little as N100 daily. He explained that the savings helped him buy three phones.

His experience offers a practical example of how a financial goal can be approached gradually instead of waiting until a large sum becomes available. Saga also spoke about controlling spending and thinking about the future, noting that money might not always come in the same way.

One attraction of digital savings platforms is that they help users separate money they want to keep from the money they can spend. Rather than relying only on willpower, users can establish a target and build a routine around it. The amount saved will depend on individual income and responsibilities, but consistency can help turn an intention into a habit.

For celebrities, this may mean having more control over their decisions. Someone who has built up savings may be better positioned to handle an emergency, take time between projects or reject a business deal that does not suit them. Financial security does not always show up in a photograph, but it can provide choices that visible luxury cannot.

And for entertainers whose careers can move from one extreme to another, the most important financial move may not be the next big purchase. It may be deciding what to do with the money they have already earned.

Daniji Emmanuel is guilty for having 2 addictions in his life – Music and Writing. A relentless writer, wide scope researcher and a confluence of knowledge, BigDan, as he is popularly known is a disciple of the Thomas Huxley Quote, “try to learn something about everything and everything about something.”