CreditRegistry and MANSA, Afreximbank’s digital identity platform, have sealed a new partnership aimed at improving cross-border trust, transparency and credit access for African businesses.
The Memorandum of Understanding was signed at the Africa Credit Expo (ACE) 2025 by Dr Jameelah Sharrieff-Ayedun, MD/CEO of CreditRegistry, and Mrs Maureen Mba, head of the MANSA Digital Initiative at Afreximbank.
The agreement links Nigeria’s pioneering credit bureau with MANSA, Afreximbank’s flagship due diligence platform under the Africa Trade Gateway, a digital ecosystem created to unlock intra-African trade.
MANSA acts as a single trusted source of KYC and compliance data for businesses, banks and SMEs, helping firms prove their credibility in both regional and global markets.
During the signing, Mrs Mba noted MANSA’s purpose: “deepen cross-border trust and equip African businesses with the credibility and confidence that they need to thrive in global trade.”
Both institutions say the collaboration will help African businesses gain visibility and credibility in regional and global markets. They describe the partnership as a joint initiative aimed at closing long-standing gaps in identity, verification and financial literacy across the continent.
Under the partnership, CreditRegistry and Afreximbank will onboard thousands of African businesses onto the MANSA platform. They will also deliver financial literacy and compliance training to MSMEs, build capacity for responsible borrowing, and create a more transparent environment for cross-border transactions.
The institutions say this will make more African enterprises “visible, credible and bankable.”
The signing also highlighted CreditRegistry’s long history in enhancing Nigeria’s credit infrastructure. Dr Sharrieff-Ayedun recalled how millions of Africans had long faced blocked opportunities due to the lack of verifiable credit history.
That changed when CreditRegistry established Nigeria’s first credit bureau, an effort that later introduced biometric technology into credit reporting and helped pave the way for the Bank Verification Number system.
Over the years, the organisation supported several initiatives to expand financial literacy. These include the Africa Consumer Credit Academy and public awareness programmes that reached more than a million Nigerians.
Last year alone, the group completed 73 webinars and in-person sessions sponsored by industry partners. The company has also launched youth-focused initiatives, such as Project Launchpad, designed to guide young Africans towards financial independence.
Another ongoing initiative, “On The Streets: Naija Tours,” captures real voices and personal stories about the meaning of credit, financial struggles and the desire for better opportunities.
These programmes, the organisers said, align with the everyday realities of young Africans, many of whom are ambitious but lack guidance and access to credit tools.
The Africa Credit Expo itself has evolved into a regional point of convergence, bringing together regulators, innovators and more than 90 stakeholders from across the continent. Its mission is to connect, empower and ensure trust in Africa’s financial systems.
CreditRegistry and Afreximbank aim to enhance that mission. Their shared commitment, they said, is to strengthen the backbone of Africa’s financial ecosystem and push the continent closer to a self-sustaining future where businesses can trade with confidence across borders.