Access Holdings Plc Chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede has asserted that African banking institutions must urgently transition their primary focus from mere financial profitability and stability to active value creation, infrastructure financing, and broad economic expansion.
Speaking at the closing session of the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) 2026 in Luanda, Angola, Aig-Imoukhuede cautioned that a banking sector can maintain high safety ratings and strong profit margins while simultaneously serving an underperforming domestic economy.
Addressing the summit’s core theme, he emphasized that the success of African financial systems and regulators should ultimately be measured by their tangible contributions to job creation, living standards, and national development.
Highlighting critical operational bottlenecks, the Access Holdings chairman pointed to poor access to working capital as a persistent barrier for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
He advocated for the adoption of digital invoicing systems modeled after frameworks in nations like India and Brazil, which would allow creditworthy SMEs to secure financing based on the financial strength of their buyers rather than traditional collateral constraints.
He also cautioned against the structural mismatch of using short-term retail bank deposits to fund long-term infrastructure projects, urging instead for the deeper mobilization of domestic savings and pension funds.
Concluding his address, Aig-Imoukhuede noted that while the departure of certain international lenders has opened doors for indigenous institutions, African ownership alone will not suffice. True economic transformation requires local banks to actively deploy capital to unlock large-scale industrial and entrepreneurial potential across the continent.
