Nairobi, Kenya — Credit Reference Bureau Africa (CRB Africa) announced last week that it will be rebranding to the name of parent company, TransUnion across its operations in Africa.

The credit reference bureau was late last year acquired by Transunion, the global giant in credit and information management, which increased its collective African footprint to 12 countries on the continent.

During the official rebranding announcement, the company also marked the introduction of the TransUnion Kenya Financial Sector Score, a new analytical scoring model for the financial sector, specifically developed for the Kenyan market.

The generic score provides a globally tested analytical tool that optimizes business customer acquisition and management practices.

Commenting on the changeover, Grant Phillips, CEO of TransUnion Africa Regions, said the rebranding will usher in a whole new era at a time when Africa is fast adopting Credit Referencing.

"TransUnion is pleased to be opening a new and exciting chapter in Kenya. With operations in 32 countries around the world and 100 year-strong history in Africa, we are proud to introduce both the TransUnion brand and our new scoring model to Kenya.

"Scoring enables credit granters in emerging markets to make decisions based upon tested and proven predictive criteria such as affordability and payment behavior. It provides a truly objective view of the consumer and helps to eliminate the need for subjective or discriminatory information such as age, gender, marital status or even address. Through predictive scoring, the credit process is streamlined and credit risk for lending can be effectively managed - helping to create a positive economic impact for the region."

"With more than 20 years' experience in credit referencing and debt management in Africa, CRB Africa prides itself on our strong client relationships, high business ethics and our deep commitment to our people and the region, ," said Michael Karanja, Chairman of CRBAfrica.

TransUnion creates economic and competitive advantages for businesses and consumers. For businesses, credit referencing helps improve efficiency, manage risk, reduce costs and increase revenue by delivering comprehensive solutions that leverage data, advanced analytics and decision making technology.