TransUnion acquires majority stake in CRB Africa

By JACKSON OKOTH

TransUnion, a global leader in the credit and information management, has bought a majority shareholding in Credit Reference Bureau (CRB) Africa.

If this transaction gets regulatory approval, TransUnion will have access to eight countries across Africa – where CRB has a presence, significantly expanding its footprint in Africa.

"The financial details of this deal is still undisclosed, but we intend to be enablers to CRB objectives," Edward Khoury, CEO TransUnion Africa, told journalists yesterday.

TransUnion has operations in South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland.

It will now extend its services into Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, bringing a wide range of credit reporting and risk management solutions to these emerging markets.

"In addition to supporting new retail and banking customers in the region, the deal will enable our large customers in South Africa to launch operations further into Africa, whilst being assured of credit bureau support," said Khoury.

The introduction of credit bureaus in Africa is expected to have significant impact on small businesses, thereby creating more jobs.

Global reputation

"As part of TransUnion, we will have the global reputation, expertise, systems and suite of solutions to dramatically enhance our services within the region," said Michael Karanja, Chairman, CRB Africa.

Local businesses seeking to access funding from overseas will benefit from the credit reporting provided by the two organisations.

With a population of close to 1 billion and a strong Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Africa is increasingly becoming the focus of local and international commercial interest and investment.

CRB Africa, headquartered in Nairobi, is Africa’s largest network credit reference bureau and debt management organisation. It has allowed banks, credit card companies, financial institutions, microfinance and multinationals to reduce their credit risks.