The Financial Institution Training Centre (FITC) has said it is driving a transformation through its Credit Academy, a strategic initiative built to nurture highly skilled credit professionals across the nation’s financial services sector (FSS).
According to a statement by FITC yesterday, the academy is launched as part of FITC’s broader mission to support institutional resilience and economic development, and the credit academy is more than a learning platform, but also a national response to a structural problem that has stifled growth for decades.
“Amid rising credit demand, increasing credit bureau activity, and regulatory reforms, the academy is building the workforce Nigeria needs to unlock sustainable and inclusive credit delivery,” the statement read.
Citing recent data from CRC Credit Bureau, FITC noted that Nigeria’s credit penetration had reached 14 per cent, a modest improvement over the past decade, but still far below global and regional standards.
“In comparison, credit penetration exceeds 30 per cent in economies like Kenya, and even higher in parts of Southeast Asia. While the growth trajectory is encouraging, analysts agree that systemic gaps persist, particularly in human capital, credit infrastructure, and lender confidence.
“Despite over 50 million Nigerians owning bank accounts, only a fraction have accessed formal credit products. A major reason is institutional inertia: many financial institutions lack adequately trained personnel to assess and manage credit risk effectively. This results in conservative lending practices, high rejection rates, and a continued reliance on collateral-heavy models that exclude low-income households and SMEs.
“The FITC Credit Academy was designed with a clear vision: to address the talent and competency gap in Nigeria’s credit ecosystem. It does this through carefully structured programmes, practical learning modules, and immersive delivery formats tailored to the Nigerian context.”
The statement listed key features of the FITC Credit Academy as: Tiered Learning Tracks, Courses with Impact, Application-focused Methodology, and Partnership with key Stakeholders.
On tiered learning tracks, the statement read: “The academy offers beginner, intermediate, and advanced programmes to accommodate various roles: credit officers, risk managers, loan portfolio specialists, and senior executives.”
On application-focused methodology, the statement said: “Each course blends theory with real-life case studies, simulations, and peer learning, ensuring participants leave with practical, actionable skills.”
The statement noted that the ongoing expansion of credit bureau coverage, the enforcement of the secured transactions in movable assets act and the digitisation of collateral registries signal a growing appetite for reform, adding that for the tools to work, institutions must have the technical capacity to integrate them and this is where the credit academy shines.
