“If you enter this segment, you need to give people smartphones with a neobank application installed.” Ukrainians in Nigeria to launch neobank Jejebank in the fall: how it will work

As Rogalsky said in an interview with Forbes Ukraine, at the start, jejebank will operate without classic bank cards — accounts will be opened for users, and a card product may be added later. At the same time, the accounts are already being tested on employees.

The project focuses on the four largest cities in Nigeria: Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano, with a combined population of about 60 million people. The team aims to capture 1% of this market.

Rogalsky explains the choice of the country by the fact that Nigeria’s financial technology market is currently at the level of Ukraine 6–8 years ago. However, despite the large number of banks, the quality of digital services and user experience often remain weak.

One of the features of the model may be working with users without access to modern banking services. In particular, the team is considering the option of issuing smartphones with the bank’s application installed on credit. «If you enter this segment, you need to give people smartphones with the neobank application installed, cards and give them the opportunity to pay for the smartphone. In case of non-payment, the smartphone is blocked. Another option is to call relatives if the client does not pay off the loans. But Nigerians are very curious, and they are more likely to praise their relative for this and say how good he is, he deceived a large bank,» says Rogalsky.

Jejebank also plans to combine digital banking with a physical presence through agents in markets — this is an important channel for attracting customers in Nigeria, where users expect personal contact with financial service representatives.

The marketing strategy involves focusing on a tech-savvy audience at the start, with further scaling through referral programs. The team takes into account the specifics of the local market, where offline communication and quick support response play an important role — otherwise negativity can quickly spread on social media.

The launch of jejebank comes against the backdrop of previous unsuccessful attempts by Ukrainian teams to enter this market. In particular, Fintech Farm already launched a neobank in Nigeria in 2022, but closed it in less than six months. Rogalsky believes that the market has changed now, and having a local partner and a license gives jejebank a better starting position.

Overall, the team plans to build the product as a localized neobank with a strong brand and emotional component, focused on users who are already familiar with digital financial services but are not satisfied with their quality.