Creative Telecoms & Technologies (‘Creative‘), one of the leading Financial Technology Services companies in Africa, has signed an agreement for Experian to supply its proprietary software to establish a credit reference database and bureau service in Nigeria.

Creative, which specialises in electronic banking, electronic payment and computer telephony software development, will provide valuable decision-making tools to any company or financial institution extending consumer credit in Nigeria. The Experian software will be used to offer the following services to businesses:

• Positive and negative credit account information on individuals seeking credit
• Search matching based on name and address
• Information on previous credit applications

Nigeria, with approximately 140 million inhabitants, is the most populous country in Africa. With 25 Universal Banks (which deal with both retail and corporate customers) and more that 250 Micro Finance Banks, Nigeria is experiencing one of the fastest growth rates in the consumer and SME credit market in the whole of the African continent. Also, the phenomenal rise in cellular phone usage has led to the Nigerian telecommunications industry becoming one of the fastest growing markets in the world.

Commenting on the agreement, Roberto Giannantoni, Head of Credit Bureau solutions, Experian, said: “This operation fits our strategic objectives of expansion into exciting emerging economies around the world. Experian is one of the world’s largest and most successful providers of credit bureau services and solutions for third party operators. Experian operates credit bureaux in 15 international markets, including highly developed areas such as UK and USA and others.

“Creative is the right choice to develop a prosperous credit bureau business in Nigeria thanks to its financial capacity, its depth of local experience, its numerous clients within the financial industry and its excellent track record in managing large IT projects.

"The demand for fast, accurate information in decision making is growing rapidly in financial markets across the world, and Nigeria is no exception. Lenders need to base their decisions on relevant information about consumers, so automated and sophisticated credit information retrieval systems are key to managing credit risk. The predictiveness of decision-making solutions has been enhanced by the introduction of shared credit information via credit bureaux, resulting in better risk management for lenders and improved profitability. Credit bureaux are key enablers for the growth of a nation’s consumer economy and the quality of consumer credit portfolios, whilst protecting the privacy and credit exposure of individual consumers.”

Commenting on the agreement, Olatokunbo (Toks) Kotoye, the Chairman of Creative, stated: “Experian is clearly the world leader in the provision of credit bureau services and its decision to partner with us is a tremendous endorsement of the immense potential of the African consumer credit market, which has now reached a critical mass.

“A credit bureau is a vital risk management tool that is necessary to ensure that the consumer banking sector in Africa continues to expand in a sustainable manner. We are proud to lead this development.

“At Creative, we strongly believe that appropriately developed and deployed financial technology solutions must play a critical role in the growth of many developing economies in Africa. A world class credit bureau is a key solution that will facilitate and enhance the emergence of a large and vibrant middle class sector within all African economies.”

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