… Aig-Imoukhuede leads delegation to Luanda as Group pushes to convert pan-African scale into sustainable economic value
By Rashidat Okunlade | Lagos
Access Holdings Plc is set to advance the case for African financial institutions to convert scale into greater economic impact when leaders from across the continent’s financial ecosystem gather for the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) 2026 in Luanda, Angola, holding from November 3 to 4, 2026.
Participating as a Diamond Sponsor alongside its flagship subsidiary, Access Bank Plc, the Group will bring its pan-African experience to discussions on one of the continent’s most pressing priorities: how to mobilise more capital for productive investment, deepen regional trade and financial integration, and expand access to finance for businesses and households.
High-Powered Delegation
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, will lead the Group’s delegation. He will be accompanied by Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, and Seyi Kumapayi, Deputy Managing Director, African Subsidiaries, Access Bank Plc.
For Access Holdings, the conversation in Luanda goes beyond the growth of individual financial institutions. It is about how African institutions can use their reach, capabilities, and partnerships to address the continent’s financing needs and create sustainable value for businesses, economies, communities, and shareholders.
The ‘Scale-to-Value’ Agenda
Africa’s opportunity is significant, but realising it will require financial institutions with the scale, capability, and partnerships to mobilise capital more effectively and direct it towards productive growth. In this context, the Group noted that scale is not an end in itself; its value lies in what it enables institutions to deliver for businesses, economies, and communities across the continent.
Having established a significant pan-African footprint through Access Bank, the Group is increasingly focused on translating that scale into value by connecting markets, supporting enterprise, facilitating regional commerce, and widening access to financial services. This Scale-to-Value orientation reflects a broader ambition to ensure that expansion is matched by deeper economic relevance and measurable stakeholder impact.
At AFIS 2026, the Group will contribute perspectives from its experience across African markets, with particular emphasis on: Mobilising domestic capital, Strengthening regional trade and payments integration, Broadening financial inclusion, Using digital platforms to extend financial services to underserved businesses and households.
‘Finance That Moves Across Borders’
Commenting on the Bank’s participation, Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, said:
“Businesses need finance that moves across borders as easily as their ambitions do. At AFIS 2026, we will show how Access Bank is turning its pan-African scale into real value by connecting markets, supporting enterprise and widening access to financial services.”
These priorities reflect Access Holdings’ view that Africa’s financial future will depend not only on the size or profitability of its institutions but also on their ability to channel capital towards the real economy, enable businesses to grow, and connect African markets more effectively.
Co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Jeune Afrique Media Group, AFIS 2026 will convene more than 1,250 African and global financial leaders and regulators. The summit, themed ‘Making Capital Count: Unlocking Growth Through African Finance’, will examine practical ways to mobilise private investment, direct finance to the real economy, turn African savings into African investment, and deepen regional integration.
Through its participation, Access Holdings will advocate stronger collaboration among financial institutions, governments, regulators, investors, and the private sector, recognising that building Africa’s financial capacity requires institutions and markets to work together across national and sectoral boundaries.
Why It Matters
Africa’s economic paradox has always been stark: the continent is rich in resources and potential but chronically starved of the capital required to industrialise and develop its infrastructure. Historically, this gap has been filled by foreign direct investment and international lenders, often on terms that prioritised external interests over local development.
Access Holdings’ “Scale-to-Value” agenda at AFIS 2026 represents a maturing of the African financial sector. By emphasizing the mobilization of domestic capital and the conversion of African savings into African investment, the Group is championing a model of self-reliance. This is critical because foreign capital, while necessary, is notoriously fickle; it retreats quickly during global economic shocks. Domestic capital, managed by strong pan-African institutions, is far more resilient.
Furthermore, the emphasis on regional trade and payments integration speaks directly to the ambitions of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). For intra-African trade to flourish, a business owner in Lagos must be able to transact with a partner in Luanda or Nairobi as seamlessly as they would within their own borders. If Access Bank and other major financial institutions can build the digital infrastructure and payment rails to facilitate this, they will unlock enormous economic value.
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede’s presence in Luanda signals that Access Holdings is not just operating in Africa; it is actively seeking to shape the continent’s financial architecture. The challenge now is execution. If Access can successfully leverage its massive continental footprint to drive real economic inclusion and cross-border commerce, it will set a powerful precedent for how African banks can serve both their shareholders and their society.
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