(Ecofin Agency) - In a release published December 10, 2018, the Irish information services firm Experian announced that it would acquire Compuscan and Scoresharp, two credit information bureaus that operate in many Subsaharan African countries such as South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Ethiopia and Uganda.

"By combining the best of both Experian and of Compuscan, significant opportunities for further growth, innovation and financial inclusion across the wider African region will be created", said Charles Butterworth, managing director of Experian.

"The acquisition, therefore, marks a significant milestone, opening up exciting opportunities as we expand across the region", he added.

A Credit Bureau is an institution that gathers information on financial commitments and the credit profiles of banks’ clients and later use those information to optimize the credit risk. The Credit Bureau thus helps decrease the level of bad debts banks could be exposed to.

Listed on London stock exchange, Experian is specialised in information and management of customer relationship. It provides data and analysis tools to clients worldwide helping companies in the management of credit risks, fraud prevention, better marketing target, automatization and decision-making.