Vendor Due Diligence: What Nigerian Businesses Should Check

Vendor due diligence is the work you do before a vendor becomes part of your business. It protects your money and your reputation. It does not have to be heavy. It has to be consistent.

Decide how much checking each vendor needs

Use simple tiers. A small one-off purchase needs light checks. A vendor with large payments, access to your premises or customer data needs more.

The core checks

• Business identity: legal name, registration details and owners or directors where available
• Address: a physical visit to the office, shop or yard
• Contact: a named person with authority, reached on a number you verified
• Bank details: account name matches the business, and changes are confirmed by a call to a known number
• References: recent customers you can call
• Capacity: can they actually do what they promise at your size?

Watch for common red flags

• Pressure to pay quickly or to a personal account
• No physical premises or a different address each time
• References that cannot be reached
• Details that do not agree between documents
• A vendor who resists a site visit

Keep a record

Write down what you checked, who did it and when. Re-check important vendors every year and whenever bank details change.

Where a field check helps

When the vendor is in another city, a physical verification gives your team evidence without travel. The report should clearly separate what was confirmed from what was not.