INFORMATION COMMUNICATION AND TECHNOLOGY-ENABLED FINANCING STRATEGIES AND CORPORATE PERFORMANCE OF DMBS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

This study investigated the impact of Information Communication and Technology-enabled financing strategies on the corporate performance of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in Nigeria. Specifically, the study evaluated the influence of digital credit intermediation, blockchain-enabled trade financing, and mobile-enabled crowdfunding on bank performance metrics including operational efficiency, service quality, and customer satisfaction. The research adopted a descriptive survey research design, the target population is 3,250 individuals with data collected from a sample of 328 professional staff across 24 licensed DMBs in Nigeria using a structured 5-point Likert scale questionnaire. Reliability of the instrument was confirmed via Cronbach’s Alpha (0.86), and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis through SPSS version 29.0. Findings revealed that ICT-enabled financing strategies collectively account for 70.9% of the variation in corporate performance (R2 = 0.709, p < 0.05). Individually, digital credit intermediation emerged as the most significant predictor (β = 0.418, p = .001), followed by blockchain-enabled trade finance (β = 0.302, p = .001) and mobile-enabled crowdfunding (β = 0.198, p = .004). The study concludes that the transition from traditional manual systems to digital-first financial ecosystems is a strategic imperative for institutional resilience in Nigeria’s volatile macroeconomic environment. It recommends that DMB management prioritize the continuous upgrade of AI-driven credit scoring and establish dedicated blockchain frameworks for trade finance to maintain global competitiveness.