By the time Nigeria began to seriously confront the problem of financial exclusion, one truth had become painfully clear. The economy was not short of ideas, ambition or entrepreneurial energy. What it lacked was trust, structured, measurable and transferable trust. For decades, banks lent in the dark, borrowers were assessed largely on relationships rather than records, and millions of capable individuals and businesses were locked out of formal credit simply because no system existed to tell their financial story. Few people understood this problem as deeply, or addressed it as decisively, as Dr Ahmed ‘Tunde Popoola.

Today, as he marks another birthday, Dr Popoola stands as one of the most consequential yet understated architects of modern Nigeria’s financial system. As the founding Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of CRC Credit Bureau Limited, he did not merely build a company. He helped design the backbone of a national credit reporting framework that has reshaped lending practices, strengthened financial stability and expanded economic opportunity for tens of millions of Nigerians.

Builders construct visible structures. Visionaries construct systems. Popoola belongs firmly to the latter category.Popoola’s understanding of Nigeria’s credit challenge was not theoretical. It was forged over fourteen formative years in the banking sector, where he rose to become Chief Finance Officer and General Manager of a publicly listed bank by 2005. From that vantage point, he saw the same troubling pattern repeat itself across institutions. Banks were extending loans without reliable insight into borrowers’ full obligations. Customers, sometimes unintentionally and sometimes deliberately, played one bank against another. Non-performing loans climbed to alarming levels, hovering around 30 per cent in some periods. Meanwhile, genuinely creditworthy individuals and small businesses were excluded simply because there was no verifiable record of their financial behaviour.

At the heart of the problem was information asymmetry. Lenders did not know enough about borrowers, and borrowers had no formal way to prove their reliability. Credit history, a concept taken for granted in developed economies, was largely absent in Nigeria.

Popoola recognised that without a shared system for collecting, analysing and distributing credit information, Nigeria’s ambition for inclusive growth would remain constrained. Lending would stay conservative, capital would be misallocated and trust would remain fragile.

In 2008, when Popoola assumed leadership of CRC Credit Bureau Limited, the challenge before him was unprecedented. Credit bureaus were still unfamiliar to most Nigerians. There was no deep-rooted culture of data sharing among financial institutions, limited public understanding of credit reporting, and no comprehensive regulatory framework to support it.

CRC itself had been established by a consortium of ten leading financial institutions in partnership with Dun and Bradstreet, signalling early belief in the idea. Yet belief alone could not build infrastructure. Skepticism was widespread. Many questioned whether Nigerians would accept credit reporting, whether banks would cooperate fully, and whether the system could be trusted.

Popoola approached the task with a blend of technical rigour, patient advocacy and long-term vision. He understood that credit reporting was not merely a commercial product but a public good, one that required collaboration, regulation and education.

His leadership style reflected this understanding. He focused on building credibility, aligning stakeholders and ensuring that governance, data integrity and ethical standards were never compromised.

One of the most critical obstacles to effective credit reporting in Nigeria was the absence of a unique national identification system. Without a reliable way to identify individuals consistently across institutions, credit data could not be accurately matched or trusted.

In 2011, Popoola, alongside the managing directors of Nigeria’s other credit bureaus, engaged directly with the Central Bank of Nigeria on this issue. Acting under the umbrella of the Credit Bureau Association of Nigeria, they presented a landmark paper to the Bankers’ Committee in February 2012 titled Credit Bureaus and Nigerian Banks: Partnering for Growth. The presentation made a compelling case for the introduction of a unique identification system as a foundation for credit infrastructure.

The outcome of that engagement was historic. The Bankers’ Committee adopted a resolution that led to the introduction of the Bank Verification Number. Today, the BVN is an indispensable pillar of Nigeria’s financial system, enabling secure transactions, reducing fraud and strengthening credit reporting.

Popoola also played an active role in discussions that culminated in the enactment of the National Credit Reporting Act of 2017, which provided a clear legal and regulatory framework for credit bureaus. His influence extended beyond Nigeria’s borders as interim Chairman of the Africa Credit Information Sharing Association, where he continues to champion deeper credit reporting and cross-border data collaboration across the continent.

Under Popoola’s leadership, CRC has consistently rejected complacency. Rather than treating credit reporting as a static service, he has driven continuous innovation across Nigeria’s credit ecosystem.

CRC has developed and launched fifteen distinct products and services, including CRC Score, Nigeria’s first indigenous credit scoring system developed in collaboration with FICO. This marked a major step forward, allowing lenders to assess risk using locally relevant data rather than imported models.

The introduction of the 360 Degree Customer View further expanded the scope of credit assessment by integrating alternative data sources and behavioural insights, offering a more holistic picture of borrowers. CRC’s API integrations have enabled real-time access to credit information, transforming lending workflows and supporting faster, more informed decision-making.

In 2022, CRC underwent a strategic evolution with the creation of CRC Data and Analytics Limited, transitioning into a group structure and expanding beyond traditional credit reporting into broader data and analytics solutions. This move reflected Popoola’s conviction that data, when responsibly harnessed, would be central to Nigeria’s economic future.

Complementing these technical advances is the CRC Financial Education Centre, which has trained thousands of professionals and individuals in credit risk management, data analytics and financial literacy. For Popoola, access to credit must go hand in hand with education, both for lenders and consumers.

CRC’s achievements under Popoola’s stewardship have not gone unnoticed. The organisation has received numerous industry accolades, including Best Loan Application Service Provider in 2014 and Best Credit Bureau of the Year in 2018 and 2019. Capital Finance International has named CRC the Best Credit Bureau in Nigeria for six consecutive years from 2020 to 2025.

One award panel described CRC as the largest credit reporting agency in Nigeria, responsible for over 95 per cent of the nation’s recorded credit data from commercial banks, non-bank institutions, utility companies and retailers. Forbes Africa’s 2023 and 2024 edition featured CRC for its pivotal role in advancing financial inclusion.

Individually, Popoola has been honoured for his leadership and innovation. He was named Credit Bureau CEO of the Year in 2018, conferred with the Sir Ahmadu Bello Platinum Award of Excellence in 2023, and recognised in 2025 as the most astute Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for business innovation and tactical management. He has served multiple terms as Chairman of the Credit Bureau Association of Nigeria and previously chaired the Lagos and District Society of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

Popoola’s contribution to national development predates CRC. From 2005 to 2008, he served as the pioneer Chief Executive Officer of the Abuja Enterprise Agency, an initiative of the Federal Capital Territory Administration supported by the Department for International Development. Tasked with promoting entrepreneurship and small business development, he transformed the agency from a conceptual idea into a functional institution with measurable impact.

Under his leadership, AEA introduced Entrepreneurs’Clubs in secondary schools across the FCT using the Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship curriculum. One school, Junior Secondary School Jikwoyi, went on to represent Nigeria at the SAGE World Cup in Odessa, Ukraine, returning with the global trophy, a first for both Nigeria and Africa.

He also launched SME conferences, business plan competitions and entrepreneurship programmes for National Youth Service Corps members, equipping young Nigerians with practical skills to start and sustain businesses. In recognition of his impact, he received a special ministerial commendation in 2007 and later served on the AEA Board until 2015.

These experiences deepened his understanding of the financing gaps facing small businesses, insights that would later shape his approach to credit reporting and financial inclusion.

The true measure of Popoola’s legacy lies not in awards or titles but in outcomes. More than 30 million Nigerians now have credit scores because of systems he helped build. Thousands of small businesses have accessed financing to expand operations and create jobs. Millions of loans have been approved based on data-driven assessments rather than guesswork.

Loan defaults have reduced, strengthening Nigeria’s banking system. Ease of Doing Business indicators have improved. Entrepreneurs, young professionals and families have accessed opportunities previously beyond reach.

As Popoola himself reflects, the journey is far from complete. Nigeria’s credit penetration still lags behind that of developed economies. Millions remain outside the formal system. Yet the foundations have been laid.

Looking ahead, he envisions a future where every Nigerian, regardless of background, can build a credit history and access financial resources to pursue legitimate ambitions. Under his continued leadership, CRC is exploring artificial intelligence and machine learning to enhance credit assessment, while its group structure positions it to play a broader role in Nigeria’s data economy and potentially across Africa.

For all his professional accomplishments, Popoola remains grounded in family, faith and community. He has served as National President of Sepeteri Community since 2001 and founded the Tomeb Foundation for Youth Development and Sustainability, which has provided scholarships and supported research on entrepreneurship and youth enterprise for over a decade.

Those who work with him describe a leader marked by humility, integrity and a genuine commitment to developing others. At CRC, he has cultivated a culture of excellence that attracts and retains top talent, while his mentorship continues to shape the next generation of professionals and entrepreneurs.

As he marks another year, Dr Tunde Popoola can look back on a career that has quietly but profoundly changed Nigeria. He helped build the invisible infrastructure that allows trust to travel across institutions, cities and lives. He turned credit history from an abstract idea into a practical tool for empowerment.

Yet, as with all true builders, he is more focused on what remains to be done than on what has already been achieved. There are still millions to bring into the system, innovations to pursue and a vision of full financial inclusion to realise.