Nigeria’s FMCG market is worth an estimated $25 billion, yet a significant financing gap continues to limit growth across its retail ecosystem. Despite retailers serving as the backbone of the country’s consumer goods distribution chain, only 18% have ever accessed formal credit, exposing a major opportunity for fintech driven financial infrastructure.
This challenge is becoming more urgent as Nigeria’s retail landscape becomes increasingly digital. While millions of small retailers continue to rely on informal credit arrangements and cash based relationships with distributors, growing adoption of digital payments and point of sale systems is creating new pathways for data driven lending.
The Hidden Credit Gap Behind Nigeria’s Retail Economy
The findings were highlighted in the Omni FMCG Industry Report 2026, unveiled during the company’s seventh anniversary celebration at the Omni Insights Forum in Lagos.
The report, inaugurated by the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr Jumoke Oduwole, provides a detailed look into how goods, capital, and data move across Nigeria’s consumer goods value chain.
According to the report, while Nigeria’s FMCG sector serves an estimated population of 238 million people, access to working capital remains one of the biggest obstacles facing retailers.
About 74% of retailers stated that access to credit is essential to sustaining their daily operations, yet more than half experience regular working capital shortages.
Mayowa Alli, Omni’s Chief Operating Officer for Financial Services, explained that the objective of the report is to draw attention to the transformation happening within the sector.
“The reason we published the report was to shed light on what’s happening within the sector, importantly, how capital flows. A lot of the time, industry players don’t appreciate how rapidly technology is changing, and goods and services get distributed. We hope that by publishing this report, we start to galvanise a lot more interest from industry players to pay attention to how technology can impact capital flow within the ecosystem.”
How Data Is Becoming the New Collateral
For decades, lack of formal records and collateral has prevented many small retailers from accessing bank financing. However, increased digitisation is beginning to change that reality.
The report shows that more than 75% of retailers now accept digital payments, while 78% use POS systems, creating transaction histories that can help fintech companies assess creditworthiness.
This is where companies like Omni are building solutions through embedded finance.
“I don’t think it’s one company that can fill the requirement of the entire country, but I think we are equipped to take a large share at the bottom of the pyramid. At the top of the pyramid, there are large companies, and they have been getting credit and will continue to get credit. But as you go lower, these small companies don’t have access to collateral; all they have is their business,” said Deepankar Rustagi, Founder and CEO of Omni.
Omni’s model relies on business activity rather than traditional assets. Retailers who purchase consistently and maintain good repayment records can gradually unlock larger credit facilities.
“We don’t ask for collateral. The working capital itself is the collateral,” said Kapil Tiwari, Marketing Lead at Omni.
“Once a retailer is active on our platform and we can see their order history, how they’re purchasing, how consistently they’re paying, that’s what qualifies them for credit. We start small, and as they keep placing orders and repaying on time, we increase the limit.”
The model also extends to distributors, who can access goods worth up to ₦50 million from manufacturers through the platform after verification and onboarding.
The Bigger Fintech Opportunity in Nigeria’s Supply Chain
The challenge of access to credit is not only a financial issue, it is a supply chain problem.
When retailers lack working capital, their ability to maintain inventory, meet consumer demand, and expand their businesses becomes limited. Fintech powered credit infrastructure offers a potential solution by using real time transaction data to unlock financing for businesses that have traditionally been excluded from formal banking.
Minister Jumoke Oduwole linked the report’s findings to the government’s broader ambition of creating a more transparent and collaborative trade ecosystem.
Beyond Omni’s platform, the report highlights a wider shift taking place across Nigeria’s commerce landscape, where digital payments, embedded finance, and data driven lending are becoming the tools that could redefine how billions of dollars move across the country’s FMCG sector.
