Raheem Akingbolu

The Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP), has been named Consumer Credit Access Company of the Year at the 13th BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards, held recently in Lagos.

The  event is organised annually by BusinessDay  newspaper to reward excellence and standard in the various targeted sectors. This year’s editon convened leading players across banking, fintech, and financial services.

Other notable winners at the event were: Opay — Mobile Payment Solutions Provider of the Year: First Bank of Nigeria —Dominant Force in Inclusive Banking;

Fidelity Bank — Export, Finance Bank of the Year, and Page Financials — Finance Company of the Year.

CREDICORP,  a federal government institution that has existed for barely 18 months, emerged alongside such established private-sector brands. The organisers’ selection team cited the corporation’s speed of results, innovative products, and “ecosystem-first model” as key factors in its decision. 

Noting that “CREDICORP operates not to crowd out or compete with lenders, but to win by enabling them.”

According to the selection committee, CREDICORP was chosen following a data-driven evaluation of institutions redefining access, affordability, and innovation in Nigeria’s consumer credit ecosystem. CREDICORP has achieved measurable success in making consumer credit more affordable, driving down effective interest rates by as much as 20 per cent, and enabling financial institutions to reach demographics historically excluded from formal lending — from artisans and civil servants to small traders and youth, with 65% of its beneficiaries being first-time successful borrowers.

Meanwhile, the award also highlighted CREDICORP’s pioneering innovation in product development, spanning the entire life spectrum of working Nigerians:

YouthCred — for National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, and employed youth in general.

Pensioners’ Credit — for retirees seeking liquidity and dignity in retirement;

and multiple thematic programmes in between, addressing credit for households, workers, and small business owners.

Targeting What Matters Most

The Corporation’s credit interventions have been strategically directed at the pain points most affecting Nigerians’ quality of life, including:

Mobility, and alternative energy for homes and micro enterprises through the Credit Access for Light & Mobility (CALM) Fund;

and local production and job creation through S.C.A.L.E. (Securing Consumer Access to Local Enterprises), which combines credit expansion with industrial deepening.

These initiatives reflect what was described as a “double-bottom-line model that simultaneously empowers citizens and stimulates local enterprise.” Despite financial operation for less than a year, CREDICORP has reached up to 180,000 Nigerians, facilitating access to life-enhancing goods and services — including vehicles, solar systems, home improvement and productive tools — financed with affordable credit.

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