OmniRetail, the Lagos based startup digitising Nigeria's informal retail and FMCG distribution network, has cemented its position as an industry authority with the launch of a landmark report that has the entire consumer goods sector talking. At the Omni Insights Forum in Lagos, the company launched its FMCG Industry Report 2026, a study it describes as one of the most comprehensive deep dives into how Nigeria's consumer goods sector actually works. The launch doubled as a celebration, marking Omni's seventh anniversary since Deepankar Rustagi founded the company in 2019.

The report, titled Decoding the Nigerian FMCG Sector, delivered a headline number that quickly made waves across business media. Nigeria's fast moving consumer goods sector has been valued at 25 billion dollars, making it one of Africa's largest consumer markets and positioned for significant growth driven by technology, digital finance and improved distribution systems. That places the country as Africa's second largest FMCG market behind South Africa, valued at 27.5 billion dollars, with Egypt, Morocco and Kenya trailing behind. Even more striking, the market is projected to grow to more than 36 billion dollars by 2030, supported by rapid urbanisation, a youthful population, expanding retail channels and increasing digitisation.

But beneath the optimism lies the exact problem Omni has built its business around solving. According to the findings, 74 percent of retailers surveyed said access to finance is critical to keeping their businesses running, while only 18 percent have successfully obtained formal loans, with more than half reporting working capital shortages that continue to limit expansion. Speaking at the launch, Omni founder and CEO Deepankar Rustagi noted that many retailers remain excluded from formal financial systems despite playing a central role in commerce.

This financing gap is precisely where OmniRetail has positioned its embedded finance offering. Through its Omnipay platform, the company disburses roughly 19 billion naira, about 12 million dollars, in credit every month to retailers, maintaining a near zero default rate. That track record helped the startup close a 20 million dollar Series A round in 2025, co led by Norfund and Timon Capital, with the company connecting over 150,000 informal retailers, 5,800 distributors, and 145 manufacturers across cities in Nigeria, Ghana and Ivory Coast.

By pairing hard data with its existing distribution and credit infrastructure, OmniRetail is not just publishing research, it is reinforcing its case as the platform best positioned to close Nigeria's retail financing gap, one small shop at a time.