“We see the world, not as it is, but as we are, or as we are conditioned to see it.” — Stephen R. Covey

Our perception of what is possible, the things we envision, and the opportunities we recognise—like many subjective judgements—is shaped by our experiences, cultural backgrounds, and the conversations we engage in.

These experiences collectively shape how we perceive and respond to moments of great change, whether driven by economic shifts, natural disasters, or changing market trends. While one person may see a cause for concern and another may see reasons to give up, someone else sees opportunities and the possibilities of what could be.

This is not because their eyes were created differently, but because their minds have been shaped by the rooms they have been in, the conversations they engage in, and the people they connect with. For visionary leaders, these experiences influence how they see the world and help them recognise opportunities even in the most ordinary events.

So, they can see a digital video mall where others see only the rise of the internet, a life simulation game in the everyday experiences of Lagos life, or even a million-dollar company in a mundane tweet about kolo (wooden savings box).

The Origins: A Fintech Giant Found in a Kolo Tweet

PiggyVest, Nigeria’s leading digital savings and investment platform and West Africa’s first online savings and investment app, has served over 6 million users and recorded more than ₦3 trillion saved and disbursed.

The idea behind this fintech giant did not come from an astrophysical insight or years of market analysis. It came from a tweet.

On 31st December 2015, a woman shared a picture of her traditional wooden savings box, commonly called kolo, explaining how saving ₦1,000 daily had helped her accumulate ₦365,000 in a year.

While putting away small amounts of money, say ₦200 or ₦500 daily, or ₦10,000, ₦20,000 or ₦30,000 monthly, might seem easy enough, it is not a discipline everyone finds easy to maintain.

This reality made saving consistently seem like a habit reserved for the financially disciplined, or what Ifeoluwa Adekoya calls “finance-coded adults.” But three people, Odunayo Eweniyi, Joshua Chibueze and Somto Ifezue, saw an opportunity to change that.

They set out to create a digital kolo: a platform that would help people save and make the familiar practice accessible through technology.

On the 7th of January 2016, that idea became Piggybank.ng, a savings-only platform. In April 2019, it rebranded as PiggyVest and expanded into direct investment opportunities alongside its savings products.

Ten years after its launch, the business has grown beyond its original platform. PiggyTech, the company behind PiggyVest, has expanded its portfolio to include products such as Pocket and Patronize.

But beyond the products, the millions of users served and the trillions of naira saved and disbursed, PiggyVest has achieved something even more remarkable…

Beyond the Product

…they succeeded in disrupting the digital savings industry, changing the narratives around savings, investment, and financial literacy as we know it. Here’s what we’re talking about.

Building Trust in Digital Savings

Piggybank.ng launched in January 2016, when financial scams such as MMM were widespread in Nigeria. In such a climate, convincing people to trust a digital savings platform was no easy task. However, it was a barrier the company had to overcome if PiggyVest was to thrive in Nigeria and beyond.

PiggyVest addressed this challenge by building a transparent system that allowed users to track their deposits and balances. Its accessible entry point also gave people room to try the service with small amounts. Over time, they succeeded in earning users’ trust through consistent, reliable service.

Redefining Savings as We Know It

Saving was not a new concept. It was something some individuals had mastered, while others were still making monthly and yearly resolutions to get better at it. For those who had already developed the habit or were looking to adopt it, PiggyVest was not the only option available. People already had kolo, ajo and cooperative societies. For people to choose a digital platform over these familiar alternatives, they had to see a reason to use it.

PiggyVest addressed this by:

• Making saving relevant to people’s goals: PiggyVest introduced features such as HouseMoney and Target Savings, which connected saving to goals people already had. These features changed users’ perception of the platform from simply being a place to keep money to seeing it as a partner in achieving their financial goals.
• Rewards and progress tracking: Its W.A.E.C. report, short for Wealth Accrued & Expanded Consistently, gave users a way to review and share their financial progress. By making saving performance something users could look back on, discuss and improve, PiggyVest added an engaging social dimension to a personal financial habit.

Through these approaches, PiggyVest did more than earn a place on the phones of over 6 million users. Gradually and mostly subconsciously for users—yet as part of the platform’s design—it began to foster a culture of saving, consistency and discipline. In doing so, it influenced consumer behaviour in ways that supported its growth.

Their story demonstrates a key requirement for visionary leadership: the ability not only to adapt to change or spot opportunities in disruption but also to envision a different reality and disrupt existing systems to bring that vision to life.

At IMMERSE, we are committed to raising forward-thinking leaders who can respond, adapt and thrive in an era of disruption. But we also believe visionary leadership can go a step further; beyond adapting to change to becoming the force that drives it.

This is the thinking behind the Visionary Leadership Conference 2026, themed “Executing Vision in an Age of Disruption.”

Come VLC 2026, holding from 29th to 31st October 2026, we invite you to join the leaders who are not simply waiting for favourable conditions, whether in customer behaviour, market trends or the wider business environment, but are creating those conditions and laying the foundation for what comes next.

Come and gain the insights, practical tools and perspectives that’ll equip you to look beyond what is happening now, envision what could be and execute that vision in the face of disruption.

Visit visionaryleadershipconference.com to secure your ticket and join other visionary leaders at VLC 2026.

Don’t wait to be told. Be there.