How to Verify a Supplier in Nigeria

Much Nigerian trade runs on trust and referral, and most suppliers are honest. The losses come from a minority: sellers who take a deposit and disappear, agents who pose as the distributor they once worked for, traders who deliver a lower grade than the sample, and online profiles that copy a real company's name and photographs. Verification is how you filter those out before money moves. It helps to separate three questions. Does this business legally exist? Is the person you are talking to really part of it? Can it actually deliver the goods, to the quality promised, on time? Registry checks answer the first question only. Matching names on documents, bank accounts and premises answers the second. Visits, references and a trial order answer the third. No single check is enough, and a registered company can still be a poor supplier, so scale your effort to the money at risk. A one-off purchase of a few cartons in a market needs little more than inspection and a receipt. A recurring supply contract, a distributor appointment or a large prepayment deserves the full process described here, and an hour of checking is cheap compared with chasing a refund.

Every formal business in Nigeria is registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, either as a limited company with an RC number or as a business name with a BN number. Ask the supplier for the exact registered name and number, then look it up yourself on the public search on the CAC portal instead of relying on a photograph of a certificate, which can be edited. The search shows the registered name, the registration number, the type of entity, the date of registration, the registered address and whether the status is active. Compare every detail with what you have been told. Small differences matter: a fraudster may register a name one word away from a well-known company. An inactive status usually means annual returns have not been filed, which is a sign of weak administration even when the business is genuine. For larger deals you can ask for the certificate of incorporation and the status report listing directors, and check that the person you are dealing with is a director or can show authority to act. A very recent registration date is not a reason to walk away, but it should make you more careful about prepayment.

A legitimate supplier that issues invoices should have a Tax Identification Number, and manufacturers and distributors will quote it on their invoices as a matter of course. Ask for it. The tax authorities provide an online TIN verification service, and the name returned should match the CAC name. The single most useful practical check in Nigeria, though, is the bank account. Nigerian banking apps and transfer channels display the account holder's name before you confirm a payment. That name should be the registered business name. Be very cautious if you are asked to pay into a personal account, into an account in a different company's name, or into a new account because the usual one is said to have a problem. Those three requests are behind a large share of payment fraud, including cases where a genuine supplier's email or messaging account has been taken over and new account details are sent to customers. If the bank details change, confirm by calling a number you already know, not the one in the message. A corporate account in the registered name also gives you a trail that a bank and the police can follow if something goes wrong.

For some goods, the product needs verifying as much as the seller. Food, packaged water and drinks, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices and chemicals are regulated by NAFDAC, and a registered product carries a NAFDAC registration number on its label. Check that the number is present, that it is printed as part of the label and not stuck on afterwards, and that the product name and manufacturer match the registration. NAFDAC maintains an online database of registered products that you can search, and some medicines carry scratch-off codes that can be authenticated by text message. Manufactured goods are the responsibility of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria. Locally made products covered by mandatory standards are certified under MANCAP, the Mandatory Conformity Assessment Programme, and carry the MANCAP mark together with the Nigerian Industrial Standard certification details. Imported regulated products go through SONCAP, and an importer should be able to show the SONCAP certificate for the consignment being sold. Ask to see these documents for the specific product and batch you are buying, check expiry and manufacture dates, and treat missing or mismatched numbers as a reason to stop, because selling unregistered regulated goods exposes your own business to seizure and prosecution.

A visit tells you more than any document. Go to the shop, warehouse or factory at the address on the registration and the invoice, or send someone you trust. Look for a signboard in the business name, stock that matches what is being offered, staff who know the products, and evidence of regular trade such as loading activity and delivery records. For a manufacturer, ask to see the production line running, the raw material store and the quality control records. If the supplier claims to be an authorised distributor, ask for the appointment letter and then confirm it with the manufacturer's sales office, since manufacturers will generally tell you who their distributors are in a given area. Ask for two or three trade references, preferably customers in your line of business, and call them. Ask how long they have bought from the supplier, whether deliveries arrive complete and on time, and how complaints were handled. In the big markets, the traders' association for that line knows its members and can tell you whether a shop is in good standing. If a supplier refuses a visit, cannot name a single customer or keeps moving the meeting to a hotel lobby, take that as your answer.

Once the checks are passed, test the supplier with a small order before you commit real volume. A trial order shows you the true quality, the accuracy of quantities, packaging, delivery time and how the supplier communicates when something slips. Keep an approved sample so that later deliveries can be compared against it. Structure payment so that neither side carries all the risk. For goods in stock, pay on collection or on delivery after inspection. For goods made or sourced to order, a deposit with the balance due on inspection or delivery is normal, and the deposit should be in proportion to the supplier's real upfront costs. Put the terms in writing, even if it is only an invoice or purchase order confirmed by message: product specification, quantity, price, delivery date and place, who pays transport, and what happens if goods are late or defective. Always obtain an invoice or receipt in the business name. For larger contracts, consider asking your bank about instruments such as a bank guarantee or a letter of credit. Increase order sizes gradually as the supplier proves reliable, and keep a second supplier qualified so that you are never dependent on one source.

Certain patterns appear again and again in supplier fraud. Prices well below the rest of the market. Pressure to pay today because stock is running out or the price is about to rise. Payment to a personal or unrelated account. A registered name that does not match the trading name, the invoice or the bank account. No fixed premises, or reluctance to allow a visit. Documents sent only as photographs, with blurred numbers. Contact only through messaging apps and free email addresses for a business that claims to be large. Unwillingness to supply a sample or a small first order. Any one of these deserves a question, and two or three together are reason to walk away. Online B2B marketplaces help at the discovery stage. On Towobo, suppliers are listed by product category with commercial details such as minimum order quantities, lead times, certifications and payment terms, and buyers can browse and request quotes at no cost, so you can compare several suppliers and see who responds professionally. A listing on any platform is a starting point, not a substitute for your own checks, so carry out the same verification steps before you pay.