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By Adebowale Johnson
In a bid to boost income opportunities and promote dignified work among Nigerian men, the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) has distributed brand-new tricycles to members of the Tricycle Owners’ Association of Nigeria (TOAN), Lagos branch, in Ikorodu. The ceremony, held on July 28, 2025, underscores CREDICORP’s commitment to unlocking economic potential through innovative, asset-backed consumer credit.
The tricycles were financed through affordable and structured repayment plans, enabling beneficiaries to kickstart or expand their transportation businesses. Olanike Kolawole, CREDICORP’s Executive Director of Operations, emphasised the importance of translating promises into tangible results. “What we’re doing here is simple, providing hardworking youths with the tools they need to become self-reliant,” she stated.
The model is deceptively simple: recipients receive the tricycle upfront, begin earning immediately, and repay the loan over 18 to 24 months at low, fixed rates. The vehicles are assembled locally, supporting domestic manufacturing and creating ripple effects across supply chains, from welders to tire suppliers.
For many, the tricycle is more than transport, it’s transformation. Take 28-year-old Funke Adebayo, one of the few women in the group. A single mother of two, she previously relied on overcrowded buses to commute to her job as a tailor in Ikorodu market. Now, with her own trike, she ferries customers’ garments, picks up fabric orders, and earns extra income shuttling schoolchildren in the afternoons.
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She said: “My daughter asked me yesterday if I was now a ‘big madam’. I told her, ‘Yes, mama is now the boss.’”
The event drew cheers, prayers, and even a few tears. Community leaders, local officials, and representatives from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) watched as each recipient signed their agreement, received their keys, and took their first ride around the square, a symbolic loop toward a new beginning.
CREDICORP partnered with Sub-City Global Project and Letshego Microfinance Bank to deliver the tricycles. Umar Tolihat Imam, MD/CEO of Sub-City Global Project, expressed pride in the collaboration, describing the event as a beacon of hope and opportunity for the youth.
The Ikorodu rollout is just the beginning. CREDICORP plans similar distributions in Kano, Enugu, and Port Harcourt in the coming months, targeting not only transportation but clean energy, agriculture, and micro-retail sectors.
