Formal credit access doubles to 10% – Report

Nigeria's formal credit access has nearly doubled to 10 percent, according to the 2026 Access to Financial Services in Nigeria Survey conducted by Enhancing Financial Innovation and Access (EFInA) in partnership with the National Bureau of Statistics. The survey, which covered all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, found that formal financial inclusion among adults stands at 73 percent, representing an estimated 87.2 million individuals.

Women business owners and farmers have experienced significant gains, with formal financial inclusion rising from 67.5 percent to 76.3 percent and 42.7 percent to 53.6 percent, respectively. Fintech company Moniepoint emphasized that the findings support the case for cash flow-based lending, which assesses borrowers based on their business's financial performance and activity.

Moniepoint's CEO, Tosin Eniolorunda, stressed the importance of trust in financial services, noting that 96.9 percent of adults who trust their providers carried out a financial transaction within the past 90 days, compared to 65.6 percent who do not trust their providers.