B2B startup Duplo secures two licences from Nigeria’s tax authority

Duplo, a Nigerian business-to-business payment platform that digitises payment flows, has secured both the Systems Integrator (SI) and Access Point Provider (APP) licences from the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the country’s tax authority.

The dual licences allow Duplo to help businesses generate NRS-compliant electronic invoices, automatically transmit them to the tax authority, and settle payments within the same platform.

“Africa’s next growth phase requires robust financial systems, not temporary patches,” said Yele Oyekola, CEO and Co-Founder of Duplo. “By securing both the Systems Integrator and Access Point Provider licences in Nigeria, we are providing the single operational layer that finally connects payments, invoicing, and tax logic.”

This comes as Nigeria tightens tax compliance under the NRS’s new digital tax framework. In 2025, the NRS issued a public notice on the phased implementation of its e-invoicing and electronic fiscal system (EFS) regime, which aimed to replace paper-based billing by enabling taxpayers to electronically generate, validate, and submit their invoices in real-time. 

The system was initially rolled out for large taxpayers, companies with an annual turnover greater than ₦5 billion ($3.6 million); however, from July 1, medium taxpayers with a turnover of between ₦1 billion ($721,000) and ₦5 billion ($3.6 million) will be expected to comply with the NRS’ standards. 

Non-compliance carries significant penalties, including an administrative fine of ₦200,000 ($144.20), daily penalties of ₦10,000 ($7.21), and a 100% tax surcharge on unreported transactions. Additionally, invoices without the official digital stamp render input VAT non-claimable, affecting B2B partnerships. Duplo’s new licences allow the company to support businesses preparing for Nigeria’s mandatory electronic invoicing rollout.

Duplo’s Systems Integrator licence would allow the company to connect the software systems of businesses to the Merchant Buyer Solution (MBS), the government’s flagship e-invoicing platform, in order for invoices to be accurately generated. 

The Access Point Provider licence enables the company to transmit validated invoices directly to the NRS engine, and once validated by the tax authority, those invoices can also be settled and reconciled within Duplo’s system.

Several local financial infrastructure companies have built tools that could help businesses with e-invoicing, including payment providers such as Moniepoint and Flutterwave, and enterprise finance and accounting platforms like Bumpa. Duplo is positioning itself differently by combining invoicing with tax compliance and payment settlement within a single ecosystem.

Founded in 2021 by Yele Oyekola and Tunde Akinnuwa, Duplo builds financial infrastructure designed to help African businesses manage payments, create invoices, conduct account reconciliation, and other operational workflows. 

Duplo is among a growing roster of firms accredited by the NRS to securely transmit transaction data. This network includes payment companies such as e-Tranzact, Bluechip Technologies, Qucoon Limited, and Arca Payments Company, alongside Pasca Technology Limited, a provider of digital tax and e‑invoicing solutions; HOPtool Technology Limited, which specialises in interoperability platforms; and Pillarcraft Cloud Solutions, a Nigerian cloud and fintech integration specialist.

As Nigeria’s e-invoicing deadline approaches for medium taxpayers, the company is positioning its platform as a bridge between businesses’ financial systems and the government’s digital tax infrastructure.

“Our dual-licence status allows businesses to bridge their existing ERPs [Enterprise Resource Planning] directly to the national e-invoicing architecture, ensuring that every transaction is validated by the NRS and settled on our platform in one seamless motion,” Oyekola added. “You don’t scale payment operations by adding headcount – you scale by automating decisions and standardising the infrastructure of your business.”