Ibadan-based Alerzo forced to sell buses and bikes as Moniepoint chases N4.38bn debt

Alerzo, the B2B e-commerce startup that once delivered goods to thousands of small retailers across Southwest Nigeria, is selling off its fleet of buses, motorcycles, and other vehicles.

The company is liquidating assets as it struggles with a N4.38 billion debt to Moniepoint Microfinance Bank. A Federal High Court in Lagos froze Alerzo’s assets three weeks ago after the company defaulted on a N5 billion loan it took in January 2025 for working capital.

The asset sale includes the buses, dispatch motorcycles, and shuttles the company used to run its delivery operations.

The company had built a logistics network to supply small shops with inventory directly, cutting out middlemen and promising faster delivery at lower costs.

How Alerzo got here

Alerzo launched as one of Nigeria’s most promising B2B commerce startups, raising $20 million in funding to develop a business model that directly connects manufacturers and distributors to small retailers. The company employed hundreds of people and operated across Lagos, Oyo, Ogun, and other southwestern states.

However, cracks began to show in 2023 when Alerzo laid off staff as operational costs continued to mount. The company was burning cash on logistics, maintaining vehicles, paying drivers, fueling bikes, while trying to grow market share in a sector with thin margins.

In early 2025, the company required urgent financial assistance and sought help from Moniepoint. The financial technology company, which had become a microfinance bank, provided a loan of N5 billion with a repayment period of 18 months.

However, within a few months, Alerzo was unable to make the required payments. Moniepoint sent an official request for payment in November 2025. By December, the company still owed N4.38 billion, and interest charges continued to increase the amount owed.

What happens to employees and the business

The asset sale suggests Alerzo is either trying to raise cash to pay Moniepoint or winding down operations entirely. Selling the delivery fleet, the core of their business model, means they can not operate even if they wanted to.

For employees, this likely means more layoffs or a complete shutdown. Social media reactions show frustration from people who worked with or benefited from Alerzo’s services. One comment noted the company helped small businesses by painting shops and marketing Alerzo’s brand, employing many people in the process.

The collapse shows the harsh reality of business-to-business trade in Nigeria. Companies such as Alerzo compete by selling a lot of goods quickly, which means they must invest heavily in transportation and storage.

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However, their profits are very small, making it difficult to continue operating when the economy gets worse or when they do not grow fast enough to make their investments worthwhile.

Alerzo is not alone, several Nigerian startups that raised millions during the funding boom of 2020-2022 have struggled to stay afloat as investor money dried up and operating costs soared.

The difference is that Alerzo borrowed heavily from Moniepoint to survive, and now can not pay it back. The fintech company, which itself recently raised funding and expanded aggressively, is not backing down on recovering what it is owed.

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