Creditville, a leading fintech company in the credit industry is celebrating its 10th anniversary, today, July 3rd. Over the years, Creditville has grown into a powerful group with five subsidiaries, revolutionizing the landscape of loans, leases, asset management, savings, and investment.
In this interview with Nairametrics, Michael Uwakwe, the chairman of Creditville shares major insights into the company’s inception story, challenges, and future plans.
Q: – Creditville is set to celebrate 10 years in business this July. As the chairman of the company, can you share with us the inspiration behind the setting up of the company?
A: – Ever since I read the late Dennis Odife’s iconic book on the Nigerian Capital Market while in the University, I have been fascinated by equities and investments. As a result, I started investing in the Nigerian Stock Exchange way ahead of my peers. Creditville was born out of this interest and was designed as a vehicle to monitor and manage my stock markets investments. The objective was for it to metamorphose into a licensed stockbroking firm. Following the sharp decline of equity prices in 2008 / 09, we decided to pivot into lending instead. We have stayed in lending ever since while extending to other financial services.
Q: – So, how would you describe Creditville today, and can you share with us your long-term vision for the company? How do you envisage Creditville evolving and making a significant impact in the finance and lending industry in the coming years?
A: – Creditville stands today as a fast-growing, mid-sized financial services organization, with subsidiaries engaged in Asset Management; Payroll Lending; SME lending; Equipment leasing; and Property management activities. The company has witnessed tremendous growth over the years. Much of the growth has been organic, with a few acquisitions. In 2020, we acquired a Microfinance Bank, which is now named Creditville Microfinance Bank
Headquartered in Lagos, we have branches in Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Benin, with a significant online presence. We are still in a growth phase, with plans to increase our market share in the businesses we are involved in.
Our corporate mission is to deliver affordable and innovative financial services for a good life to our customers. Through the years, we have remained true to our core values of professionalism, integrity, and excellence, while placing efficient customer service at the core of our business. This has been validated through various corporate awards we have received. In 2020, we were awarded the “Most Trusted Customer Finance Company” at the Africa Finance Awards; and in 2021, we won “Africa’s Best World-Class Quality Leading Service Company of the Year”. These awards are evidence of our commitment to unrivaled efficiency in all our activities.
The medium and long-term vision for the company is to grow and become a notable and efficient member of the financial services industry with a reputation for excellent customer service. We shall continue to provide unparalleled value to our various stakeholders – employees, customers, and shareholders. Through the efficient deployment of cutting-edge technology, we shall continue to support, enable, and provide alternatives to traditional banking and financial services. In the next 5 to 10 years, we expect to be recognized as best-in-class within the Fintech sector.
Q: – In terms of expansion, does Creditville have any plans to extend its operations beyond its current market? Specifically, are there any strategies in place to expand into other countries within Africa?
A: Creditville has witnessed rapid growth, especially in the last 5 years. Our ‘enterprise value’ today is more than 1000 times where we started 10 years ago. This has been the result of a deliberate and carefully planned growth strategy. In finance, size matters, and we intend to maintain this trajectory. The pandemic years set us back somewhat but now that things have normalized, we are continuing on our growth path. We are now in the second of our 5-year development plan, at the end of which we expect to have presence in 3 African countries, quite possibly Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Our business sector is not likely to change much, but we hope to extend our territory and customer base.
Q: – Are there any plans for Creditville to diversify its services and venture into additional industries beyond its current offerings of loans, leases, asset management, and investment services?
A: – As you mentioned above, our services are quite diversified already. We have been on a rapid-growth path and our short and medium-term objective is to consolidate those activities to serve our customers better. However, we will grow territorially and engage in cross-sector investments. Given the challenges that the Nigerian business environment presents, we believe that diversification is key to long-term stability. We are currently in the process of putting together a Venture Capital (VC) team with the objective of searching out, investing in, and supporting new start-ups. Nigeria has a young and vibrant entrepreneurial community, and we want to mentor and support these young people with finance and the benefit of our own experience.
Q: – With Creditville’s remarkable growth and success in the finance and lending sector, have you considered taking the company public? What are your thoughts on the possibility of an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in the future?
A: – Going public is certainly in our plans and an IPO is part of our medium-term plan. We do not want to rush this as the company needs to mature and our business model further tested and validated. Being the custodians of a publicly quoted company, and the trust of the investing public is a responsibility that we will not take lightly. Going public will enable us to extend our reach and build the capacity to enter and serve new markets and customers. This will align perfectly with my personal passion for the capital market.
Q: – Looking at Creditville’s achievements and steady growth, some companies might choose to bring in external investors. Is there a possibility that Creditville will consider this strategy in the future to further fuel its expansion and attract investment?
A: – Yes. This is part of our short-term plan as a matter of fact. As I mentioned earlier, every financial institution is strengthened by a bigger financial muscle. Economies of scale work positively in this sector. Before going public, we intend to bring in a handful of external investors to help extend the equity base of the company. This will be done through careful vetting, to ensure we bring in people of like minds, willing to key into the long-term vision of the company. We see the company as an attractive investment, having delivered profits in nine of its 10 years of existence, the result of careful planning and prudent management.
Q: – Can you shed light on any significant challenges that Creditville has faced along its journey, and how the company has overcome them to achieve sustained success?
A: – As any entrepreneur will tell you, doing business in Nigeria can be very challenging. The operating environment is quite daunting. From multiple taxation to high inflation to inefficient public services and infrastructure, companies such as ours face the daunting task of meeting customers’ expectations, while remaining profitable. This is the reality that companies like ours face today. Besides that, we have suffered, like other businesses, from the ‘Japa syndrome’ whereby staff turnover has skyrocketed to almost threaten normal operations. We’ve lost a significant number of personnel in the last 2 years to the migration abroad and replacing them has been both difficult and expensive. Nevertheless, we have found ways to forge ahead and achieve our objectives in the face of these challenges.
But above all, we, like most Fintech lenders, face the challenge of the attitude of Nigerian customers, who consider borrowed funds as their piece of the national cake and therefore pay scant attention to contractual repayment plans. We operate in an environment where respect for the sanctity of contracts is the exception rather than the norm. As a result, we are compelled to invest more in Risk Management, Collections, and Recovery activities.
Q: – Finally, what message would you like to convey to Creditville’s customers, employees, and stakeholders as the company celebrates this milestone?
A: – Creditville places the highest priority on the interest of our various stakeholders. Both our employees and our customers can rest assured that the company will always place their interests and well-being ahead of profitability and other interests. Our employees are mostly young people and we spare no effort in creating a conducive work environment well suited to their generation. By applying the latest technology and adopting modern work practices, we ensure our employees remain motivated and find fulfillment in their jobs. Further, we place a high emphasis on competence and skill development through training and development and carefully considered job assignments. All these, supported by competitive remuneration benefits, ensure that our employees are proud to belong to the Creditville family.
We afford similar careful consideration and support to our customers, whom we are very passionate about serving. Efficient customer service is at the heart of everything we do. We endeavor to set ourselves apart from the competition through quick and seamless service as well as problem-solving. We do not spare effort in getting to know our customers better, in order to design carefully tailored products to address their needs. As a result, our records show that we enjoy higher customer loyalty than our competitors. Our business is based on prudence and focused on the long term, so our customers can trust that we will always be there for them.
As we enter our second decade as a corporate entity, we are confident that we can continue to build on our remarkable success of the past decade and achieve even greater heights. We commit to ensuring that our stakeholders will continue to benefit from our hard work, professionalism, and integrity. We believe the sky is the limit and we’ve only just started.
This was beautiful to read! To think I have been part of this journey is satisfying.