For years, Nigeria’s fintech boom has been measured by how quickly companies can move money. Seun Osunkeye believes the industry’s next breakthrough will be determined by something far more difficult: using data to unlock credit for millions of underserved businesses.
As managing director of Nombank, the banking subsidiary of Nomba, Osunkeye oversees a platform that now processes about N250 billion in merchant transactions every day, up from N7 billion in May 2025. He says that scale has given the company something traditional lenders often lack: a real-time understanding of how businesses earn, spend, and grow.
Rather than relying heavily on collateral, audited accounts, or rigid documentation, Nombank is using transaction data to assess creditworthiness and extend financing to businesses that conventional banks have historically overlooked.
In this exclusive interview with BusinessDay’s Chinwe Michael, Osunkeye explains why transaction data is becoming the new collateral, why fintechs are racing to acquire banking licences, and how Nombank intends to close Nigeria’s persistent SME financing gap by lending where traditional banks cannot.
Your interest in SME financing predates your career in fintech. Looking back, how did your academic research evolve into leading one of Nigeria’s newest digital banks?
