A retail technology firm, Ovaloop Technologies, has revealed that many Nigerian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are unable to access financing because incomplete business records and fragmented business operations leave lenders without credible financial data to assess their creditworthiness.

The company said many retailers, particularly in Nigeria’s informal economy, struggle to secure financing because inaccurate inventory records, unreliable cash-flow statements and fragmented business management systems prevent them from producing credible business data required by lenders.

Speaking at a media briefing, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Ovaloop, Princewill Mba, said many retailers still rely on manual inventory records or multiple disconnected applications for payments, inventory and accounting, making it difficult to generate complete and reliable business data.

“Most of these retailers are not bankable,” Mba said, explaining that financial institutions often cannot rely on the records presented by many SMEs because the underlying business data are inaccurate or incomplete.

He cited major trading hubs such as Onitsha Main Market and Alaba, saying many traders make substantial revenues but remain unable to access loans because financial institutions cannot rely on the records they present.

He said the company’s retail operating system was developed around the realities of African businesses by integrating inventory management, sales, payments and reporting into a single platform, enabling retailers to generate credible operational and financial records that could support financing decisions and business expansion.

According to him, the retail sector is expanding as more people establish retail businesses, adding that many enterprises struggle to scale because they lack the operational data needed to guide growth and secure financing.

Mba noted that while technology adoption among informal retailers may take time, the rapid acceptance of digital payments across Nigeria demonstrates that similar progress can be achieved in inventory management through simplified technology, merchant training and collaboration with trade associations and policymakers.

Chief Technology Officer and Co-founder of Ovaloop, Daniel Kilanko, said fragmented retail systems expose businesses to operational inefficiencies because inventory, payment and accounting functions often operate independently.

According to him, the platform synchronises those functions across web and mobile applications, allowing business owners to monitor operations remotely while linking every completed sales transaction to a verified payment, reducing opportunities for internal fraud and strengthening business reporting.

On the broader retail landscape, Mba maintained that technology remains the principal enabler of business growth, arguing that access to finance ultimately depends on businesses maintaining credible and verifiable data that lenders can assess during due diligence.

He further argued that wider deployment of technology could strengthen tax compliance by enabling more transparent business reporting and reducing reliance on manual verification of business records.

Beyond financing, the company said retailers also lose revenue through internal fraud, particularly where employees divert customer payments into personal accounts.

Kilanko said the firm’s payment verification system requires every completed sale to be matched with a verified payment before a transaction can be closed, while role-based access controls restrict employees’ access to sensitive business information. He added that the company is pursuing additional security certifications to strengthen data protection.