Nigerian startup NiteonHQ is a commodity marketplace built to simplify and scale trade across emerging markets, primarily within the agriculture, mineral and textile verticals.
Founded in 2023, Niteon is a marketplace that connects suppliers with buyers, and also assists with logistics. In practical terms, a buyer can place an order, a supplier can fulfill it, and Niteon handles everything in between, such as financing, coordinating delivery, and final settlement via Kunte, its in-house AI-based operating system.
“We connect suppliers, buyers, and logistics, while building the largest manufacturers bank, providing trade finance so suppliers never have to worry about access to market or access to capital, allowing them to focus on increased sustainable production,” Dr Tony Nwose, Niteon’s CEO and founder said.
Nwose founded Niteon out of firsthand experience.
“Growing up on my grandfather’s cocoa plantation, I saw how much value was lost due to the lack of credit for farmers or effective logistics, with farmers and producers doing the hard work but earning the least,” he said.
“My co-founder and I later gained experience working with global technology companies like Google and IBM, which exposed us to systems that scale efficiently. We brought that thinking back to solve a very local but massive problem.”
NiteonHQ was launched to fix the disconnect between trade and finance.
“Suppliers often have demand but no working capital, while buyers have capital but face unreliable supply chains. Most existing platforms solve only one part either listing products, offering logistics, or providing financing but not all three in a unified way,” said Nwose.
This all-encompassing solution has resulted in “strong and consistent” uptake.
“We’ve grown from about US$85,000 in revenue in 2023 to over US$700,000 in 2025, driven largely by repeat users and increasing trust in the system. What’s been most encouraging is that users don’t just try the platform, they stay and scale with it,” Nwose said.
“Key milestones for us have been validating the model, growing transaction volumes 300 per cent yearly since 2023, building the first manufacturers bank, and ranking as the third largest digital export platform in Nigeria.”
The startup, which generates revenue through a combination of commission, subscriptions and financing returns on the credit it extends to suppliers, has secured some external funding, and is for now focused on exports from Nigeria to the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
“The vision is much broader – expanding across Africa and into key global trade corridors, building infrastructure that allows African commodities to move more efficiently into global markets,” said Nwose.
One of the biggest challenges in scaling NiteonHQ has been building trust in a system that changes how people traditionally trade.
“Many suppliers are used to informal systems, so introducing structured, tech-driven processes takes time, but we have built their informal system into our solution,” said Nwose.
“There are also infrastructural challenges – logistics, verification, and cross-border complexities – but those are exactly the problems we’re solving. In many ways, the challenges validate the opportunity. The inefficiencies in the market are large, but so is the potential impact.”
