Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, has challenged African central banks, financial institutions, and policymakers to move beyond preserving financial stability and focus on translating the continent’s capital into productivity, economic growth, and shared prosperity.
Speaking at the closing session of the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) 2026 in Luanda, Angola, Aig-Imoukhuede argued that Africa’s next phase of economic development would depend less on the volume of capital available and more on how effectively that capital is mobilised and deployed.
“The real question is: Are we making the capital we have count?” he asked.
Reflecting the summit’s theme, Making Capital Count: Unlocking Growth Through African Finance, he challenged participants to reconsider how financial institutions can unlock Africa’s economic potential.
Aig-Imoukhuede acknowledged African central banks’ progress in strengthening monetary stability, banking supervision, and financial resilience.
Several economies had achieved macroeconomic stability, he noted, but its impact would remain limited unless it translated into productive investment and improved living standards.
“A banking system can be well, can be as safe as you want it to be, it can be profitable, but then it can still serve an economy that is very underperforming,” he said.
A central theme was the need to release liquidity trapped in commercial transactions involving small and medium-sized enterprises.
He argued that businesses supplying goods and services to creditworthy corporate customers should be able to obtain financing against those transactions at rates reflecting the credit standing of their buyers.
“When an SME supplies goods to a creditworthy buyer, that SME should be able to attract capital and financing at the same cost of the credit rating of that buyer immediately,” he said.
Citing the Dangote Refinery as evidence of investors’ appetite, he urged Africa to connect household savings, pension assets, and institutional capital to long-term opportunities.
Turning to the banking industry, Aig-Imoukhuede challenged African financial institutions to ensure that their growing continental presence delivers economic value.
He acknowledged opportunities created as international banks reduce their exposure and indigenous institutions fill the gaps.
However, he cautioned that replacing foreign ownership with African ownership should not, in itself, be considered sufficient progress.
“We must translate the scale we are building into globally competitive value,” he declared.
African banks, he argued, need the international reach and infrastructure to serve businesses as effectively as the multinational institutions they are replacing.
His remarks underscored a broader shift in the African banking narrative: from geographic expansion and institutional scale to competitiveness, connectivity, and measurable economic value.
When an SME supplies goods to a creditworthy buyer, that SME should be able to attract capital and financing at the same cost of the credit rating of that buyer immediately.
Economic and financial integration
Aig-Imoukhuede also called for faster economic and financial integration, arguing that fragmented markets constrain Africa’s ability to mobilise capital and grow.
He cautioned against allowing discussions about a common African currency to overshadow the more immediate task of integrating markets, financial infrastructure and the movement of goods, services, and people.
“Integration must precede monetary union,” he said.
He questioned how the continent could aspire to develop integrated financial markets while maintaining restrictions that complicate the movement of people conducting legitimate business across African borders.
He also stressed that integration requires more than technical reforms or regulatory agreements. It demands a genuine commitment among African leaders and institutions to the idea of a more connected and prosperous continent.
Looking ahead, Aig-Imoukhuede challenged Africa’s financial leaders to consider what meaningful progress should look like over the next 10 to 20 years.
He questioned whether African businesses would be able to raise capital more efficiently across borders, whether pension funds would increasingly finance infrastructure rather than concentrate on government securities, and whether financial institutions would succeed in translating the continent’s resources into broader prosperity.
