Each quarter, we return to one question: what defined the last three months? The answer kept circling back to a single moment, so that's where we begin.

There's a moment many business owners know. It's not the moment sales drop or the moment a competitor undercuts you. It's the moment you open your account, do the math twice, and realize you have customers, you have orders, you have a business that on paper is working and still do not have enough cash to pay the people who work for you this Friday.

That moment ends businesses. Nigeria's SMEs make up 96% of all enterprises in the country and nearly half of our GDP. Most of them won't see their fifth year, not because the idea was bad, but because nobody taught them the difference between profit and cash in hand.

In April, we created the room for that conversation to happen.

The Money Talks Webinar with Olagoke Balogun

Olagoke Balogun built SoFresh from a single fruit stand into Nigeria's leading healthy food chain, with 15 outlets and counting. So when he told over 200 business owners that businesses don't die from bad ideas, they die from empty accounts, it came from firsthand experience.

That was Money Talks, our Financial Literacy Month webinar. If you weren't there, consider this your second invitation. Access the full webinar recording here and the Free Cashflow Framework for Business Owners, co-authored by Olagoke Balogun himself, right here

Two Products, Both Live: Loans on the App & Credit Direct Business

For as long as the Credit Direct app has existed, you could check your loan balance, view your repayment schedule, and manage it all from the app. But if you needed a new loan, you had to apply through a different channel, then come back to the app once it was approved.

That gap is closed now. If you're on Tier 2, meaning you've completed the verification steps that unlock higher transaction limits and more features, you can apply for a loan directly on the app.

We're still in our early go-live phase, so the experience will keep getting better with every update. Thank you for being patient with us as we improve.

Credit Direct Business follows the same approach, and it's also now live, on its own platform. We launched the core first: a business wallet that earns 15% per annum, so the money sitting between invoices actually works instead of sitting idle.

How to apply for a loan on the app:

1. Confirm you're on Tier 2. Check under Account if you're not sure. Tier 2 unlocks after identity verification with your BVN and NIN.
2. Tap the Loans tab at the bottom of the app.
3. Tap "Apply for a Loan" and enter the amount you need.
4. Review the offer, including interest rate, repayment terms, and schedule, before accepting.
5. Confirm and submit.
6. Once approved, funds are disbursed directly into your Credit Direct wallet, ready to use immediately.

We put a price on peace of mind, and the price is N750

Did you know only about 13% of Nigerians have any form of health coverage? Most people skip treatment because paying out of pocket means something else in the house waits, rent, transport, the kids' school fees. So people self-medicate, or hope the fever breaks on its own before it becomes something worse.

That's the exact gap our partnership with WellaHealth. Together, we launched a micro-insurance product that gives you access to essential medications worth N6,000 monthly from over 3,000 pharmacies nationwide. This pharmacy cover comes at a heavily discounted cost of just N750/month.

Getting covered takes less time than it took to read this section:

1. ‍Download the Credit Direct app and sign up, if you're not already a user on the app.
2. Upgrade your tier and fund your wallet with at least N750. This covers your monthly subscription.
3. Dial *5120*7# using the phone number linked to your Credit Direct account or send a Whatsapp message to 09070309430‍
4. Follow the prompts to activate your plan.

You might have caught us in the news

In April, we signed an exclusive partnership with Vivo, one of the most trusted smartphone brands in the country. Through this partnership, you can now own a Vivo Smartphone with just 20% down payment, which is lower than the usual 25% downpayment required for our Buy Now Pay Later product. You can also spread the balance across six months.

To purchase a vivo smartphone, visit Slot, Pointek, or the vivo store in Ikeja, Lagos, and many other checkout merchants who sell mobile phones. But first... find out how much credit you are eligible for here.

9 out of every 10 loans disbursed in Nigeria go to married borrowers. Did you know this?

Publishing Nigeria’s Credit Landscape Report 2025 required months of data collection, analysis, and synthesis across CBN statistics, FHAN sector data, FMDQ market data, World Bank benchmarks, and Credit Direct's own analysis of over 300,000 borrowers.

What we did not expect was how often the data pushed back on what we assumed we already knew. Some findings confirmed existing intuitions. Many sharpened them, and a few challenged them outright. This is just one thread in a much bigger picture. Read the full report here.

Yield Premium on the app

Yield is built for a wide range of investors and Yield Premium has been added to that pool. It is a custom offering for higher-value investments that need more than what our existing plans can accommodate.

Here you have it, the key things that stood out for us in Q2.

See you at the same time in Q3.