- Only 18% of traders access formal credit
- Financing constraints limit retail expansion
- Credit rising, access remains uneven
- Data visibility now economic asset
ONOME AMUGE in Lagos
A structural financing gap in Nigeria is seen shaping the performance of one of the economy’s most important sectors, where small retailers responsible for distributing everyday consumer goods continue to operate without access to formal credit.
It has also come to light that despite underpinning a $25 billion market, the retail base remains largely excluded from the financial system, raising questions about long-term sector stability.
New industry data from the Nigeria FMCG Industry Report 2026 published by Omni shows that only 18 percent of retailers have ever accessed formal loans, despite nearly 74 percent identifying credit as critical to sustaining daily operations. The gap exposes a widening disconnect between the scale of Nigeria’s consumer market and the financial system meant to support it.
While the government, banks and fintech companies have spent years promoting financial inclusion, the report indicates that access to productive capital remains elusive for much of the retail sector. The result is an economy where transactions increasingly occur digitally, yet working capital shortages continue to constrain growth.
For an industry that touches virtually every household in the country, the implications extend far beyond retailers themselves.
Hidden financing issue behind consumer spending
Food, beverages and household goods reach consumers through a deeply interconnected commercial system that underpins national distribution. While this sector is central to manufacturing output and retail activity, its structural foundations remain uneven, creating vulnerabilities within one of the economy’s most important supply chains.
The Omni report found that 74 percent of retailers regard access to credit as critical to maintaining operations, while more than half report active financing shortfalls that directly affect their ability to replenish inventory.
In practical terms, this means many retailers are unable to purchase stock when demand exists, limiting sales opportunities and reducing the efficiency of supply chains.
The challenge becomes particularly worrisome during periods of inflation and currency volatility, when inventory replacement costs rise rapidly and businesses require larger amounts of working capital simply to maintain existing turnover levels.
As a result, many retailers continue to rely on informal credit arrangements, supplier relationships, personal savings or family financing to keep their businesses running.
These informal systems have historically filled gaps left by formal financial institutions, but they often come with limitations, including restricted borrowing capacity, inconsistent availability and limited scalability.
The report indicates that the industry’s financing challenge is not simply a lack of capital, but a lack of mechanisms capable of assessing and serving businesses that operate largely outside traditional lending frameworks.
The financing gap is emerging at a time when Nigeria’s FMCG industry continues to showcase notable resilience.
Credit is rising, but access remains uneven
Despite inflationary pressures, exchange-rate volatility, rising operating costs and changing consumer behaviour, the sector has remained one of the more stable components of the broader economy.
According to the report, FMCG credit sales reached N325 billion during the first half of 2025, representing a 55.4 percent increase compared with the same period a year earlier.
The growth shows that credit is becoming an increasingly important commercial tool across distribution channels rather than merely a mechanism for coping with financial distress.
Industry participants argue that this trend reflects a deeper transformation taking place within commerce.
As supply chains become more sophisticated and competition intensifies, access to financing is increasingly determining which businesses can expand and which struggle to survive.
The report notes that Nigeria’s demographic profile continues to provide strong long-term support for the sector.
With an estimated population of over 200 million people, rapid urbanisation and a youthful consumer base, demand fundamentals remain attractive despite periodic macroeconomic disruptions.
These structural drivers help explain why manufacturers, distributors and investors continue to view the sector as one of the country’s most important growth opportunities.
However, unlocking that potential may require addressing the financing constraints that continue to limit expansion at the retail end of the value chain.
One of the report’s most significant findings concerns the rapid growth of digital payment adoption among retailers.
According to the study, 78 percent of surveyed retailers now use point-of-sale systems, while more than three-quarters utilise digital payment channels.
At first glance, these figures appear to be merely another indicator of Nigeria’s ongoing digital transformation. However, industry observers increasingly view them as a foundation for a new model of credit assessment.
Historically, small retailers struggled to access bank loans because they lacked formal financial records, audited accounts, collateral or documented transaction histories. As a result, lenders often found it difficult to evaluate risk accurately.
The report finds that digital transactions are beginning to change that equation. What was once invisible in Nigeria’s retail economy is becoming increasingly legible through data trails generated by digital payments. Every transaction routed through a POS terminal now contributes to a growing reservoir of behavioural and financial signals, gradually mapping how small businesses operate in real time.
Over time, these digital footprints evolve into structured datasets capturing sales velocity, customer flows, inventory movement and revenue consistency. For lenders and financial institutions, this emerging visibility offers a new basis for assessing creditworthiness beyond traditional collateral models.
Deepankar Rustagi, Omni founder and chief executive officer, explains that this represents one of the most important opportunities emerging within the sector.
“Data is giving visibility to the FMCG sector, while digital payments are creating transparency. Embedded finance is expanding access to capital, for this is an invisible economy,” he said.
The concept of embedded finance involves integrating financial services directly into commercial platforms, allowing businesses to access credit based on real-time transaction data rather than traditional collateral requirements. Industry participants believe this approach could significantly expand access to financing among small businesses that have historically been excluded from formal lending systems.
The financing challenge highlighted by the report is closely linked to the broader role of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises within Nigeria’s economy.
Speaking at the report’s launch in Lagos, Jumoke Oduwole, the minister of industry, trade and investment, noted that more than 40 million MSMEs account for the overwhelming majority of businesses operating in the country.
According to her, these enterprises drive about 80 percent of retail transactions nationwide, largely through informal channels.
“Across markets, neighbourhood stores, distribution channels and retail networks, these enterprises ensure that goods reach households in every part of our country,” she said.
Their importance extends beyond retail activity alone.
MSMEs serve as major employers, support local production, stimulate entrepreneurship and contribute significantly to economic resilience. Yet many continue to face persistent barriers to finance.
Recognising this challenge, government agencies are said to have expanded efforts aimed at improving access to funding.
Oduwole disclosed that the Bank of Industry disbursed N636 billion last year, including N56 billion in loans targeted at MSMEs and N5.2 billion in grants.
The government is also said to have expanded formalisation efforts through the national MSME database, which now contains more than 500,000 businesses.
Visibility becomes an economic asset
A recurring theme throughout the report is the concept of visibility.
For decades, large parts of Nigeria’s retail economy have operated with limited transparency. Manufacturers often lacked real-time insights into product performance. Distributors relied heavily on relationships rather than data. Lenders struggled to assess risk accurately.
The result was a fragmented ecosystem where decision-making frequently depended on incomplete information. However, technology is beginning to alter that dynamic.
According to Wale Adisa, chief operating officer of Omni, digital commerce platforms are generating unprecedented visibility across supply chains.
“We’ve got over 150,000 retailers who use our platform. We’ve got thousands of distributors for multiple brands who use our platform. We’ve got hundreds of manufacturers who use our platform. And that gives us visibility into the ebbs and flows of trade information in the country. We’ve been able to see where the breakages are and how data can help close those gaps,” he said.
The report also contributes to a growing debate about how financial inclusion should be measured.
For years, progress has largely been assessed through metrics such as bank account ownership, payment adoption and participation in formal financial services.
While these indicators remain important, the FMCG findings point out that they may not tell the full story.
According to the report, a retailer can possess a bank account, accept digital payments and participate in the formal financial system while still lacking access to the financing needed to grow a business.
This distinction is becoming increasingly important as Nigeria seeks to translate financial inclusion into economic development outcomes.
The report implies that the next phase of inclusion may depend less on access to payments and more on access to productive capital. In other words, the challenge is shifting from enabling transactions to enabling growth.
The next frontier for Nigerian commerce
According to the report, the future competitiveness of the FMCG sector may increasingly depend on the ability to connect commerce, data and finance.
Retailers need working capital. Lenders need reliable information. Manufacturers need visibility. Policymakers need evidence. Digital infrastructure is beginning to create links between these requirements. The question is whether those links can develop quickly enough to close one of the most persistent financing gaps in the economy.
