Biometric identity infrastructure and stablecoin neobanking in Nigeria
BMONI is a stablecoin-powered neobank focused on making multi-currency accounts and modern financial services accessible in Nigeria. It combines consumer-facing banking features with a deeper infrastructure layer for identity and security.
Underneath the product sits BioHash: a patented biometric verification system designed to verify identity without storing sensitive personal data, enabling stronger security, easier recovery, and a foundation for safer digital finance.
How biometric identity enables KYC without storing personal data
Conventional KYC stores biometric data — fingerprints, face scans — in centralised databases that become liabilities the moment they leak. Biometric identity systems like BioHash use one-way cryptographic transforms, so the database only ever stores a hash; the original biometric never leaves the user's device. That changes the economics of KYC, fraud prevention, and account recovery, and it makes identity portable across financial products. This is the heart of our Trust Infrastructure thesis, and the kind of primitive we describe in What is Trust Worth?.
Why LAVA invested in BMONI
The real wedge here isn't "another neobank" — it's identity infrastructure. BioHash's approach (secure biometric verification without storing PII) addresses one of the core blockers to scaling financial services in Africa: trust, fraud, and account security.
We also back teams with the experience to commercialise deep tech. BMONI's combination of consumer distribution and a defensible identity primitive makes it a rare bet on trust infrastructure that can compound across fintech, compliance, and eventually crypto key management.