Known as Project Radar, the platform built was an important step in safeguarding the integrity of the country’s thriving fintech ecosystem.

One year after its launch, the platform, now renamed Reporta, has successfully strengthened Nigeria’s financial sector in the fight against digital fraud.

Meant to serve as a joint fraud prevention network, the project has gained massive adoption, delivered noticeable impact and proved that collective action is need in securing the nation’s digital finance industry.

With the ever-increasing number of Nigeria’s fintech firms—home to over 217 startups and a sector that attracted nearly 50% of Africa’s total fintech funding between 2019 and mid-2023—the need for standard fraud prevention system has always been important.

Digital financial crimes have become technically advanced, with fraudsters taking advantage of any hole between isolated payment networks.

Reporta was developed as an industry-wide solution to counter these threats and protect millions of Nigerian users who rely on digital payments daily.

Today, Reporta is an independent, voluntary registry that is collectively owned by a group of financial and fintech organisations in Nigeria with board members rotated from various financial institutions.

The platform pulls together country-wide pockets of siloed information on suspicious digital behaviour. It proactively protects businesses from suspicious transactions by leveraging behavioural fingerprints.

Since its inception, Reporta has been accepted by over 25 leading banks, fintech companies, and verification platforms including Sterling Bank, Moniepoint, Busha, First Bank, Unity Bank, Wema Bank, Dojah, Flutterwave, Voyance, Preambly, Remita, Paddy Cover, Globus Bank, Herconomy, Kredi Bank, VFD, and the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).

The platform reported over 50,000 fraudulent transactions, thereby allowing financial institutions to detect and block suspicious activities faster than ever before.

There are now plans to extend the project to the insurance industry, which is also susceptible to fraud.

Before its introduction, fraud alerts were often shared informally via WhatsApp groups, making real-time detection chaotic and unreliable.

Now, with Reporta’s centralized intelligent database, banks and fintech firms can quickly search for flagged transactions using BVN, account numbers, or phone numbers—resulting in a 70% improvement in fraud detection accuracy.

A fraud analytics officer at a bank acknowledged the platform’s impact. “Before Reporta, fraud reports were scattered and often buried in long chat threads. Now, with a quick search, we can immediately see flagged transactions and take action—saving millions in potential losses.”

Apart from transaction monitoring, the system also gives fraud analysis, which helps banks understand new fraud patterns and tackle risks before they escalate.

According to a fraud and compliance officer at another bank, before Reporta, siloed information didn’t help in getting up to date analytics on new trends people are using.

“Now we can check the dashboard and see these types of data, significantly increasing our fraud detection capabilities.”

The impact is even more pervasive in Nigeria’s fintech companies, which are much younger than the banks.

According to a staff at one of the leading fintech firms, Reporta has opened up access to more important data, enabling them to upgrade their infrastructure.

“Due to better access to crucial data, we can now update our infrastructure to be more secure and can better educate customers on how to protect their accounts.”

Reporta’s impact goes beyond technology—it’s about collaboration. Over the past year, the platform has forged strategic partnerships with financial institutions, security agencies, and regulatory bodies.

These partnerships have led to fraud intelligence sharing across banks and fintechs, improved coordination with law enforcement agencies to track and prosecute fraudsters, and new regulatory standard that aligns with fraud prevention system.

One of the biggest achievements was the hassle-free integration with Nigeria’s top banking networks, giving the ground for coordinated fraud reporting and prevention efforts across multiple financial institutions.

This level of cooperation is very important in the fight against fraudsters, who sometimes take advantage of weak points and update their tactics. With all hands-on deck, fintechs and banks can close security gaps and stay ahead of cybercriminals.

Looking ahead, Reporta is working towards maximizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning to detect fraud patterns before they happen. Instead of relying on manual reporting, AI-powered fraud prevention will analyze transactional behaviours to detect fraud before it occurs, which gives traditional banks and fintechs the edge to proactively prevent losses instead of just reacting after it occurs.

The introduction of predictive analytics will further increase fraud intelligence, which will reduce false positives while legitimate transactions remain hassle-free.

According to Lead project engineer, Wilson Adenuga, this next phase of creativity, stating that AI fraud detection system will improve security for Nigeria’s fintech firms.

Within just one year, Reporta has moved from being a promising idea to an important fraud- prevention weapon used by top banks and fintech firms. Its impact is undeniable with tens of thousands of fraud cases have been identified and blocked, and financial platforms now have a more coordinated and efficient approach to fraud detection.

The insuretech firm, Paddy Cover, co-founded by Mayowa Owolabi and Tobi Obasa, and the food sourcing and distribution tech firm, Pricepally, owned by Luther Lawoyin, as well as TruQ, owned by Williams Fatayo, beat 24 other contestants who pitched their ideas before six judges.   

The two winners will go on an all-expense-paid trip to Dubai to pitch their idea to over 400 investors and thousands of technology ecosystem players at the GITEX 2022 exhibition for a chance to win $200,000.   

They all will converge at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in October for the five-day business show, mentorship, and networking with world technology business leaders.   

The Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX) is an annual consumer computer and electronics trade show exhibition and conference that takes place in Dubai at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

GITEX is one of the world’s most influential meeting places for the technology industry bringing together thought leaders, creators, innovators, and so on.

The Africa roadshow is organized by GITEX Global and sponsored by Dubai North Star, which represents the UAE Government, and partnered locally by the Lagos State Government and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).   

The judges at the event were: Akeem Hassan, TA to the special adviser to the Governor on Innovation and Technology, Segun Cole, Co-founder Fund the Gap Alliance, Amos Udok, Representative NITDA, Ireayo Oladunjoye, Head, Startups Lagos state employment Trust fund, Oguntade Adeseye, Unit head, Innovation and Entrepreneurship ONDI, and Olorunnisomo Olaoluwa Co-Founder, Seedbuilders Innovation and Foundation.

Addressing journalists at Eko Innovation Center, the Director-General (DG) of the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi has pledged not to relent in giving support to young Nigerians with start-ups in various forms to catalyze the entire eco-system towards building a digital economy.

Mallam Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi made this revelation on Thursday at the Eko Innovation Centre, Lagos through his Head of Corporate Planning & Strategy, Dr. Aristotle Onumo who represented him at the one-day pitching by no less than 27 start-ups.

“As regards this particular program, the North Star is trying to take advantage of the program to expose our start-ups, while NITDA is partnering with GITEX. 

“What is happening now will happen in Dubai, but the Dubai World Trade Centre and the Dubai Government are represented here today.   

They have come to Nigeria to be able to harness the innovative skills already within Nigeria to start early marketing of the two to be selected and connecting them with various investors across the globe so that even before they get to GITEX proper, they would have had a kind of visibility.”   

Similarly, the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Innovation and Technology, Tumbosun Alake, said “the initiative is “to give opportunities to our ecosystem start-ups with better access to local and foreign markets.   

“At the same time, Dubai and GITEX are keen to be part of the start-up ecosystem in Lagos.   

“This initiative is for us to explore opportunities together, so the finalists will be participating in the North Star program in Dubai in October, and we hope they are able to get more international investors and access to the UAE market.”   

According to him, “the number one objective is to grow our ecosystem,” and “in terms of accelerating the state as a tech hub, it gives us more recognition globally because of our partners in the UAE.   

“If the UAE is here, it is a signal to other partners across the globe. It also helps our start-ups here to get access to their market internationally and with that, they can expand their revenue base.   

Explaining the Africa roadshow, the Director, Commercial Events Management, Dubai World Trade Centre, Zarko Ackovik, said the organizers “recognize that Nigeria obviously has the largest ecosystem in the whole of Africa.”

However, “we don’t see too much of African and Nigerian start-ups coming up for expansion, so instead of just sitting there, we decided to come to the region to offer the opportunity for the start-ups.   

“The show brings them the opportunity to network, to go into competition, the $200,000 cash prize money, and the opportunity to take their start-ups there. 

“It is not only just to compete and meet investors but also the exposure comes with a lot of the big media as well, and they create partnerships and networks because the show brings 700 start-ups from over 60 countries, and investors coming from all over the world as well.

Also speaking, Akande Ojo of the United States-based Pinnacle International Consulting – country representative of Dubai World Trade Centre, explained that they have decided on an African focus, and a Nigerian focus going forward. 

 “A winner gets accommodation, space as a start-up to showcase yourself, they engage with investors, because technically you are part of their program,” he noted. 

“This is the first time we are dealing with them to ensure that they can bring the event close to sub-Saharan Africa – Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, among others,” he disclosed. 

 “The idea is that many of our start-ups are talented but they don’t have that bridge to connect with, because they don’t have the resources. 

 “So, they bring it close to you, we try to see the real talent, so the only thing it costs you is your car fare to come here, not flying to Dubai.   

“Eventually they will pick the top two each from Lagos and Abuja to be fully sponsored, and the rest of the Lagos Government initiative – the Eko Innovation Centre, and NITDA can also support.   

“The idea is just to allow more tech-preneuers to create more jobs and in return increase the foreign direct investment.”