Agent-Based Modelling of POS Agents’ Disbursement of Nano-Credits to Nigerian Market Women: A Pathway to Financial Inclusion

This study employed agent-based modelling to evaluate how POS agents can be optimized for disbursing nano-credits to market women in Nigeria. A simulation model was developed to capture the interactions among three key actors: Market Women (borrowers), POS Agents (lenders), and Regulatory institutions (oversight). The model included unique behavioural parameters such as transaction-based trust scoring, social collateral mechanisms, and adaptive loan pricing. The ABM framework showed that POS agents could achieve greater financial inclusion for low-income market women compared to traditional financial institutions. Liquidity recycling is likely to be efficient because repaid funds are successfully redeployed, creating a sustainable nano-credit ecosystem without external capital injections. Regulatory interventions like interest caps support liquidity mechanisms and help maintain agent viability. The study recommended a positive cycle of high loan approval and disbursement rates, high repayment, liquidity recycling, and regulatory support to sustain nano-credits and promote financial inclusion in Nigeria. It also advocated policies and initiatives that leverage POS agent networks for nano-credits within Nigeria’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy (NFIS).