CreditRegistry, Nigeria’s largest and pioneer credit bureau, on Friday marked almost two decades of helping to de-risk the supply of credit to the Nigerian economy by providing data on creditworthiness.
The milestone for the credit bureau, which Financial Times Magazine listed as one of Africa’s top 20 most innovative companies, has been on account of the support from its customers, shareholders, management, directors, industry regulator and peers, CreditRegistry said.
“We are Nigeria’s largest credit information database, we are the country’s largest credit bureau and the foremost leader in our industry. It wouldn’t have been possible without our customers,” said Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun, MD/CEO CreditRegistry in Lagos.
According to Sharrieff-Ayedun, part of the highlight of the 17-year journey in Nigeria has been CreditRegistry’s provision of fast, easy and efficient access to data and financial software solutions that smoothens the process of verifying creditworthiness for consumers and top financial institutions in Africa’s largest economy.
“Now lenders are able to give you a loan without meeting you physically. They can rely on the information we provide to assess your creditworthiness,” Sharrieff-Ayedun said.
At CreditRegistry’s annual cocktail event for customers, Andrew S. Nevins, Partner – West Africa Financial Services Leader and Chief Economist, PriceWaterhouseCooper, commended the credit bureau for being a big part of the push for the implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) policy, among other accomplishments.
Nevins, who gave the keynote speech at the Eko Pearl Tower, said access to credit for consumers and businesses is necessary in driving the economy.
“When I first arrived here in 2008, there wasn’t enough credit going into the private sector,” said Nevins, noting that limited credit opportunities to small businesses and consumers, at that time, was due to information gaps.
“CreditRegistry has really filled the role by creating a database without which lending to SMEs and private individuals would be difficult,” he said.
CreditRegistry is Nigeria’s largest and pioneer credit bureau operator serving members since 2003 and licensed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The credit bureau provides ground-breaking leading technology solutions such as its biometric discovery service, its SMARTScore along with 268 credit score characteristics and its newest product for borrowers called CreditConnection.
With over 20 products in its portfolio, hundreds of financial and non-financial institutions now benefit from using Nigeria’s largest credit information database.
The credit bureau has laid the foundation for fraud-proof, large-scale consumer and small business credit in Nigeria.
In its tradition, CreditRegistry treats its members to its EPIC Story Cocktail Evening every year. The event is held to show appreciation to business partners and subscribers that make the credit bureau’s vision possible.
Some of its customers which graced the 2020 event include RenMoney, Carbon, Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, MTN, Stanbic IBTC, Dangote and Standard Chartered.
Jumoke Oluwole, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Ease of Doing Business was among the guest of honor at the event.
