RenCredit is the first financial institution in West Africa to launch with a cloud-hosted core banking system. The system went live just two months from signing, demonstrating the ease of implementing cloud technology as part of the modern banking revolution.

RenCredit - a subsidiary of Renaissance Group - a leading emerging markets investment firm - is supporting the aspirations of the growing middle class in Nigeria. It aims to provide broader access to consumer credit in Nigeria, which will support the country's move from a cash to a transaction-based society.

Opting for a cloud-based core banking system enables RenCredit to operate a pay-per-use model, meaning the bank can scale its IT infrastructure to fuel seamless expansion into other African regions, at low risk to the business. Temenos has created a model bank template and seamlessly integrated loan origination and biometric bolt-ons into the system, in addition to establishing connections to local electronic payments channels. This is a replicable model allowing RenCredit to access a pre-built infrastructure directly from the Internet - anywhere - and in turn, enabling it to focus on its core competence of banking.

RenCredit will provide personal loans, street-level microfinancing, retail deposits and point of sale agreements whereby consumers purchasing from retailers will take a loan direct with RenCredit in exchange for goods. This triple lending function means RenCredit computes large volumes of transactions through which the business relies on a credit scoring engine provided by Experian. This software works seamlessly with the Temenos cloud solution for advanced decision making on all loans.

George Taylor, Chairman of Renaissance Credit Nigeria, said: "Microfinance is serving a huge market need in Africa, bringing credit lines to the 'unbanked'. Renaissance Credit offers a compelling proposition to Nigeria, coupling microfinance loans, with point o of sale lending. Temenos delivered our core banking system in just two months - that is surely a record. We will benefit from high levels of security, reliability, availability from Temenos - and the latest functionality as the upgrades to the software are taken care of by Temenos and Microsoft Windows Azure. Renaissance Credit's mission is to provide a unique microfinance service - T24 MCB in the cloud allows us to concentrate fully on that goal, with no distractions."

Karen T. Cone, General Manager, Worldwide Financial Services at Microsoft Corp. said: "We are delighted to have a key strategic relationship with Temenos and excited to support the banking industry's transition to core banking delivered via the cloud. The Windows Azure platform and T24 offer a close fit and viable alternative to up-front capital heavy technology investments. Not only will this provide a differentiating edge to banks looking to take their products to market rapidly, it helps offer microfinancing and banking services to people who haven't had access to them before."

David Arnott, CEO, Temenos, commented: "The cloud is rapidly knocking down the barriers to entry within retail banking, and African institutions are capitalising on this. RenCredit has entered the market with minimal IT outlay and has set its sights on continental expansion. Relieving the bank of IT maintenance allows RenCredit to focus on capturing market share in Nigeria and realise its vision of becoming a leading microfinance lender in Africa. Temenos enjoys working with disruptive market entrants, and recognises that speed to market and low total cost of ownership are essential when launching a financial institution - T24 model bank is designed for this."

The RenCredit initiative is testament to Temenos' strong, global partnership network. The project was supported by Temenos' specialist partner in the region, Jethro, which deployed the solution in a very short timescale and on budget.