Dr. Ahmed Popoola, the managing director and chief executive officer of CRC Credit Bureau Limited, has advocated for extensive changes to Nigeria’s credit system in order to close the $32.3 billion financing gap for small and medium-sized businesses in the nation.
Popoola made the call on Monday while giving the first Collaborative Lecture of the Centre for Advancement and Industrial Collaboration and the Faculty of Management and Social Sciences at Kwara State University, Malete, according to a statement from CRC.
Prof. Shaykh-Luqman Jimoh, the vice-chancellor of KWASU, and Prof. Wahab Egbewole, the vice-chancellor of the University of Ilorin, were among the academics, policymakers, and leaders in the financial sector who attended the lecture titled “Finance, Entrepreneurship, and the Infrastructure of Trust.”
Popoola emphasised the importance of credit for economic growth in his speech, saying, “Credit is not just about borrowing.” It is the infrastructure of opportunity, a link between your current situation and your future potential. The institutions are in Nigeria. To unlock them, we now need to construct the data ecosystem.
He pointed out that Nigeria’s credit penetration is still low, at roughly 13% of GDP, in contrast to the global average of 91% and 30% in Sub-Saharan Africa. He also mentioned that the nation has a sizable SME financing gap, estimated at $32.3 billion.
According to Popoola, innovations like open banking, artificial intelligence-driven credit scoring, and alternative data models are transforming credit access.
Financial institutions, identity frameworks like the Bank Verification Number and National Identification Number, credit bureaux, rating agencies, payment systems, collateral registries, and regulatory frameworks that support effective credit markets are all part of what he called the “Infrastructure of Trust.”
He emphasises that sustainable access to financing must be fueled by a strong, market-based financial infrastructure backed by trustworthy data, even though government credit interventions may have good intentions but have historically had little effect.
He went on to say that data visibility in the financial ecosystem is increasingly determining access to financing, and he urged people and companies to establish credibility through consistent financial behaviour.
Popoola also emphasised the advancements made by CRC Credit Bureau, noting that the company now keeps credit profiles for more than 60 million Nigerians and has contributed to the increase in credit bureau penetration from less than 5% in 2009 to more than 40%.
In his recommendations, he called on decision-makers to create a single national framework for financial access, bolster identity systems, and encourage more extensive cross-sector data sharing while maintaining stringent adherence to data protection laws.
Jimoh, KWASU’s vice chancellor, had earlier called the lecture a turning point for the school.
Dr. Popoola is honoured to give this historic lecture at KWASU. The partnership between our university and CRC Credit Bureau, Nigeria’s biggest credit bureau, serves as an example of how business and academia should collaborate to address the country’s most urgent development issues. The VC stated that financial access is a social justice issue as well as an economic one.
In a similar vein, Egbewole emphasised the importance of cross-sector cooperation in developing future leaders. The University of Ilorin is honoured to be a part of this groundbreaking occasion. In order to give our graduates the abilities and information necessary to contribute significantly to Nigeria’s developing digital economy, cooperative platforms between academic institutions and financial institutions are crucial, he continued.
A Memorandum of Understanding between CRC Credit Bureau and KWASU, which was signed in January 2026 to strengthen the connection between academic research and financial industry practice—including the provision of anonymized credit data to support evidence-based policy development—was also operationalized during the lecture.
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