FITC Unveils Credit Academy to Strengthen Nigeria’s Credit Ecosystem

The Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC) has announced that it is driving a major transformation in Nigeria’s financial services sector through the establishment of its Credit Academy, a strategic initiative designed to nurture highly skilled credit professionals across the country.

In a statement released yesterday, FITC explained that the academy was conceived as part of its broader mission to support institutional resilience and economic development. It described the initiative as more than a learning platform, stressing that it is a national response to a structural problem that has hindered economic growth for decades.

According to the organisation, amid rising credit demand, increasing activity from credit bureaus, and ongoing regulatory reforms, the academy is positioned to build the kind of workforce Nigeria requires to unlock sustainable and inclusive credit delivery.

Citing recent data from CRC Credit Bureau, FITC noted that Nigeria’s credit penetration had reached 14 per cent, reflecting a modest improvement over the past decade but still far below global and regional benchmarks. In comparison, credit penetration exceeds 30 per cent in Kenya and is even higher in several Southeast Asian economies.

While the growth trajectory is considered encouraging, analysts agree that systemic gaps remain, particularly in human capital, credit infrastructure, and lender confidence.

FITC observed that despite over 50 million Nigerians owning bank accounts, only a fraction has been able to access formal credit products.

The organisation attributed this to institutional inertia, pointing out that many financial institutions lack adequately trained personnel to assess and manage credit risk effectively.

This, it said, has resulted in conservative lending practices, high rejection rates, and a continued reliance on collateral-heavy models that exclude low-income households and small and medium-sized enterprises.

The statement explained that the Credit Academy was designed with a clear vision to address the talent and competency gap in Nigeria’s credit ecosystem through carefully structured programmes, practical learning modules, and immersive delivery formats tailored to the Nigerian context. It emphasised that the academy would provide tiered learning opportunities for different categories of professionals, ranging from credit officers and risk managers to loan portfolio specialists and senior executives.

Each course, according to FITC, would combine theoretical insights with real-life case studies, simulations, and peer learning to ensure participants acquire practical and actionable skills that can immediately impact the sector.

FITC further pointed out that the academy has been conceived in response to wider reforms in the financial services industry, including the expansion of credit bureau coverage, the enforcement of the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act, and the digitisation of collateral registries, all of which signal a growing appetite for reform in Nigeria’s credit market. However, it warned that these tools would only be effective if institutions possess the technical capacity to integrate them, underscoring that this is where the Credit Academy has a unique role to play.

The centre also underscored the importance of digital innovation in credit management, stressing that participants would be trained on how to leverage artificial intelligence, automation, and mobile platforms to assess and monitor credit. By integrating these digital credit tools, FITC believes financial institutions will be better positioned to broaden access, strengthen risk management, and expand lending to segments of the economy that have historically been excluded.

With the launch of the Credit Academy, FITC reaffirmed its commitment to building a stronger, more inclusive financial services sector capable of supporting Nigeria’s economic growth ambitions.