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.
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. “The real question is: Are we making the capital we have count?” he asked.
Aig-Imoukhuede acknowledged African central banks’ progress in strengthening monetary stability, banking supervision, and financial resilience.
He noted that several economies had achieved macroeconomic stability, 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.
According to him, the success of Africa’s financial systems must increasingly be measured not only by inflation, financial stability, and institutional profitability, but also by their contribution to lifting people out of poverty and expanding economic opportunity.
A central theme for the event was the need to release liquidity trapped in commercial transactions involving small and medium-sized enterprises.
Aig-Imoukhuede observed that millions of African businesses create value but struggle to access working capital to sustain and expand operations.
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.
Drawing attention to developments in India and Brazil, where digital invoicing systems have supported more efficient commercial financing, he challenged African regulators and financial institutions to develop similar infrastructure.
This could improve entrepreneurs’ access to finance, strengthen supply-chain liquidity, and unlock productive capacity constrained by inefficient payment systems.
He also called for greater mobilisation of long-term domestic savings into infrastructure and real-sector investments.
“We can’t use bank deposits, which can be withdrawn tomorrow, to finance long-term projects which require 20-year money,” he observed.
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.
Aig-Imoukhuede further warned that excessive government borrowing could constrain private-sector access to finance, calling for stronger coordination between monetary and fiscal authorities.
He suggested that future AFIS discussions should bring finance and budget ministers together with central bank governors to address the structural challenges limiting productive investment.
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.
He emphasised the importance of African banks establishing meaningful connections with international financial centres, developing clearing capabilities, and investing in payment infrastructure that enables African businesses to participate efficiently in global commerce.
Drawing comparisons with the evolution of Asian banking institutions, particularly in China, he argued that Africa’s financial institutions must develop the capacity to connect domestic economies with international markets while supporting deeper regional integration.
