Introduction: Nigeria’s Silent Credit Crisis
Let’s be honest, building credit in Nigeria feels like a mystery.
You can be a responsible adult who pays rent every year, supports family, runs personal projects, or hustles to stay afloat… yet when you apply for a loan, the response is often:
“Sorry, you don’t have enough credit history.”
It’s frustrating.
You pay ₦300k, ₦600k, sometimes even ₦2m or more in rent every year, yet none of that counts toward your financial credibility.
Meanwhile, someone who took a small loan of ₦20,000 last month and repaid it gets more “credit history” than you; the person paying rent consistently for 5–10 years.
Something is wrong with that system.
And that’s the problem iRent was created to solve.
Today, rent is one of the strongest indicators of financial discipline, but in Nigeria, it’s also the most ignored. iRent changes this by turning your rent payments into verified credit-building data that lenders, landlords, and credit bureaus can trust.
Let’s break it down.
Why Your Rent Should Count as Credit (But Currently Doesn’t)
Every year, Nigerians collectively pay trillions of naira in rent.
It’s one of our biggest expenses, yet rent payments:
- are not reported anywhere
- are not officially documented
- cannot be verified by lenders
- do not contribute to your credit life
This is why many Nigerians are considered “thin file” customers.
A thin-file person isn’t irresponsible. They simply don’t have enough digital financial footprints.