Credit Direct, the consumer lending subsidiary of Nigerian financial services group FCMB Group, is broadening its focus beyond traditional lending into embedded finance, a move the company says will make credit and other financial services more accessible to individuals and businesses.

Victoria Arinze, product marketing lead at Credit Direct, outlined the strategy at Moonshot by TechCabal in Lagos, saying the company intends to work with businesses and merchants to bring credit closer to everyday transactions.

Embedded finance involves integrating financial services into platforms where customers already make payments or conduct other transactions, allowing them to access products such as loans without approaching a financial institution separately. In this model, the businesses and merchants hosting everyday transactions double as distribution channels for financing.

The push comes as the continent's roughly 50 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face a funding gap estimated at more than $330 billion, according to Visa research and figures cited by Afreximbank. Credit Direct aims to help close that gap by extending its lending expertise and integrating financing into the platforms that businesses and consumers already use.

"We are primarily a credit organisation, and that has not changed and will never change. Credit is still the core of what we do," Arinze said. "What we've realised, however, is that credit really is not the end of how a person's finances is built. When you give them credit, they then need to live their life, and living their life means being able to pay for things when they want to or when they have to."

Founded in 2007, Credit Direct has spent nearly two decades lending to Nigerians, including customers in market segments that traditional lenders have often been reluctant to serve. Its 2025 Nigeria Credit Landscape Report, which draws on data from more than 300,000 borrowers, found that the average loan amount on its platform increased by 23.5% to ₦449,178 ($326.75) in 2025. Rent, medical bills, and school fees were the three leading reasons customers borrowed — a demand profile rooted in recurring, everyday expenses, the very context in which the company is now positioning credit through its embedded finance push.

The company is also deepening its push into SME financing through CreditDirect Business, one of its newer products. The offering provides general-purpose loans, invoice-backed financing, and loan purchase order (LPO) contract financing, with loans of up to ₦50 million ($37,130) available to eligible businesses. Loan amounts depend on factors including cash flow, existing obligations, and the nature of the business. Arinze described the product as still relatively new, saying the company is using customer feedback and engagement to determine how its products should evolve.

"We're not really looking to outbank the banks or out-fintech the fintechs. It's really the people at the end of the day, and getting to that strength to partner with the persons that we have to when we need to," she said.

Arinze added that Credit Direct is now exploring expansion into other West African markets, with discussions currently ongoing. The company did not disclose specific countries or timelines, nor has it named the businesses and merchants it plans to work with. Which partners come on board, how CreditDirect Business evolves with customer feedback, and whether the regional discussions translate into announced markets are the details to watch as the strategy develops.

Source: TechCabal