Michael Collins is the kind of leader who does not just occupy a seat at the table, he expands the table entirely. As Founder and Chief Executive Officer of MCO Penny Limited, he is on a mission that is both personal and powerful: putting fast, dignified financial access into the hands of civil servants and everyday Nigerians who have long deserved better.
That mission has earned him his place as one of Crest Africa’s Under 40 most influential CEOs in financial services and inclusive finance leadership.
His academic foundation is as intentional as the man himself. Michael holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management from POMA International Business University and an MBA from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology.
Not one to stop growing, he is currently pursuing a second MBA at Rome Business School, because for a man with his appetite for excellence, one horizon is never enough.
The career that followed reads like a masterclass in how to learn an industry from the inside out. Michael built deep expertise across First Bank of Nigeria, First City Monument Bank, Credit Direct, and Zedvance Finance, developing a sharp command of public sector banking, lending, product development, and financial inclusion.
At LAPO Microfinance Bank, he rose to an executive role overseeing the bank’s entire public sector segment and delivered results that still turn heads.
His division recorded an extraordinary 84% contribution to the bank’s overall profit and claimed the Most Profitable Segment award for three consecutive years.
That is not luck. That is mastery. He later joined Page Financials as Senior Vice President, leading public sector strategy, business expansion, and market penetration at the highest executive level, driving enterprise growth and product innovation that left a lasting mark on the institution.
Beyond his institutional roles, Michael became a highly sought-after consultant, known for designing bespoke financial products from the ground up that actually worked. Institutions across Nigeria came to know his name not just for his titles, but for the results that followed wherever he went.
In 2021, he founded MCO Penny Limited, the fullest expression of everything he had spent years building toward. The company provides collateral-free loans to civil servants and uniformed officers, with disbursements processed in as little as one hour.
The platform also offers flexible savings and investment plans, mobile point-of-sale services, and practical financial guidance tools.
Within its first year, MCO Penny served over 2,000 clients and disbursed more than ₦200 million. The numbers are impressive. The lives behind those numbers are the real story.
In July 2025, the continent took notice. Michael was named among Africa’s Under 40 CEOs by Young African CEOs, Johannesburg, South Africa, a recognition that places him among a select league of young African leaders rewriting what innovation, inclusion, and impact can look like.
A proud member of both the Chartered Institute of Loan and Risk Management of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Public Management of Nigeria, Michael Collins brings to every room he enters not just credentials, but deep conviction.
He is not building just a company. He is building a financial future that finally has room for everyone.
Image Credit: This Day Live
