In Luanda, at the close of the Africa Financial Summit, a banking chairman put a question to the continent's financiers that goes beyond balance sheets: what is a bank for, if the economy around it is struggling? Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede of Access Holdings argued that safety and profit are necessary but insufficient, and that Africa's banks must be measured by whether they finance the small firms, long-term infrastructure and jobs on which ordinary lives depend. The call reflects a recurring human tension between prudence and purpose, and it asks whether institutions built to protect savings can
Africa Needs Banks That Finance Growth, Not Just Stay Profitable, Says Access Holdings Chairman
Safe and profitable banks can still serve an underperforming economy.
Mark
Why does it matter that a bank chairman is saying profitability isn't enough?
Mimi
Because he runs one of the continent's big groups. He's saying a bank can be safe and profitable and still sit inside an economy that underperforms.
Mark
What was his concrete fix for small businesses?
Mimi
Financing at the cost of the buyer's credit rating when an SME supplies a creditworthy company, supported by digital invoicing like in India and Brazil.
Luke
Worth noting that's a proposal, not a program. The reporting doesn't say any regulator has agreed to it.
Mark
And the pension fund point?
Mimi
He doesn't want short-term deposits funding 20-year projects. Pension money and domestic savings should go to infrastructure instead of government securities.
Luke
He also warned heavy government borrowing could crowd out private credit, but no figures were offered to show how big that effect is.
Mark
He also said African ownership of banks isn't enough.
Mimi
Right. Some international banks have withdrawn, which opened room, but he wants scale turned into globally competitive value.
Luke
Keep in mind he leads a group with operations in Angola, so his example is also his own business. We only have his account of its ambitions.
Mark
And the visa story?
Mimi
His chief of staff couldn't travel to Luanda over visa trouble. It's one anecdote, but it anchors his argument that integration must precede monetary union.
Luke
An anecdote illustrates; it doesn't measure how widespread the barriers are.
Il Polso
- A profitable, stable banking sector sits beside businesses starved of credit and millions with few economic opportunities, and the chairman says that gap is no longer tolerable.
- Small suppliers to creditworthy buyers are left waiting for working capital, a bottleneck that pushes growth into a slow, frustrating grind.
- Pension funds and domestic savings remain tied to short-term government securities, while infrastructure goes wanting for patient, twenty-year money.
- Cross-border barriers, including visa refusals that kept a senior aide from travelling, are being named as obstacles to integration that must be cleared before any common currency is considered.
- Regulators are being asked to adopt digital invoicing and pension reforms, and the outcome now hangs on whether those reforms are taken up and whether borders begin to open.
In Luanda, at the close of the Africa Financial Summit, a banking chairman put a question to the continent's financiers that goes beyond balance sheets: what is a bank for, if the economy around it is struggling? Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede of Access Holdings argued that safety and profit are necessary but insufficient, and that Africa's banks must be measured by whether they finance the small firms, long-term infrastructure and jobs on which ordinary lives depend. The call reflects a recurring human tension between prudence and purpose, and it asks whether institutions built to protect savings can also help build the future those savings are meant to serve.
At the closing session of the Africa Financial Summit 2026 in Luanda, Angola, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman of Access Holdings, told bankers and policymakers that a safe, profitable banking system is not enough. Africa's growth, he warned, will stay limited unless banks start financing businesses, infrastructure and job creation rather than simply protecting their own strength.
He described a system in which banks can thrive while businesses struggle for funding and millions have few economic chances. He urged governments, central banks and financial institutions to measure their success by their contribution to development and living standards.
He pointed to working capital as a central obstacle for small firms, even those supplying financially strong companies. He proposed that such suppliers should be able to obtain financing immediately, at a cost tied to their buyer's credit rating, and encouraged digital invoicing systems like those used in India and Brazil.
For long-term projects, he called for pension and domestic savings to flow into infrastructure, cautioning that short-term deposits cannot fund twenty-year needs. He also noted that heavy government borrowing could crowd out private borrowers, and he cited the Dangote Refinery as a sign of what large-scale investment can achieve.
He credited the retreat of some international banks with opening room for African institutions, but insisted that local ownership must be matched by global competitiveness. He pointed to Access Bank's work in Angola as an example.
Finally, he argued that integration must come before monetary union. He recounted that his chief of staff could not travel with him because of visa difficulties, asking how an integrated financial market can exist under such restrictions. His closing test was clear: Africa's financial progress should be judged by whether its banks create opportunities, reduce poverty and improve lives, not by how large their balance sheets grow.
At the closing session of the Africa Financial Summit 2026 in Luanda, Angola, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman of Access Holdings Plc, told bankers and policymakers that a safe, profitable banking system is not enough. His warning was that Africa's growth will stay limited unless banks move beyond profitability and stability and start financing businesses, infrastructure and job creation.
He put the problem bluntly. A banking system can be as safe as anyone wants and still be profitable, he said, yet serve an economy that badly underperforms. Africa, in his view, can no longer afford a financial system where banks do well while businesses struggle for funding and millions have few economic opportunities. Speaking to the summit's theme, 'Making Capital Count: Unlocking Growth Through African Finance', he urged governments, central banks and financial institutions to judge themselves by their contribution to development and living standards.
He singled out working capital as a major obstacle for small businesses. Many struggle to get financing even when they supply goods and services to financially strong companies. His proposed standard: when a small or medium-sized enterprise supplies a creditworthy buyer, it should be able to attract financing immediately, at the cost reflecting that buyer's credit rating. Citing India and Brazil, he urged African banks and regulators to adopt digital invoicing systems to improve business financing and support expansion.
On long-term projects, he called for more pension fund and domestic savings money to go into infrastructure. He warned against using short-term bank deposits for the purpose, saying deposits that can be withdrawn tomorrow cannot fund projects that need 20-year money. He cited the Dangote Refinery as an example of the large-scale investment opportunities available, and cautioned that heavy government borrowing could crowd out private-sector access to finance. He also wants pension assets to support infrastructure more and government securities less.
Turning to the industry itself, Aig-Imoukhuede said the withdrawal of some international banks from Africa has opened room for indigenous institutions. But he warned that African ownership alone guarantees nothing. The scale being built, he said, must be translated into globally competitive value. He pointed to Access Bank's operations in Angola, where the group aims to offer services able to compete with leading international banks, and urged African lenders to strengthen payment systems, international operations and links to global financial markets.
On continental integration, he argued that fragmented markets and limits on cross-border activity continue to erode Africa's economic potential. His position was that integration must come before monetary union, and that governments should first remove barriers to trade, investment and the movement of people before pursuing a common currency. He offered a personal example: his chief of staff could not travel with him to Angola because of visa difficulties. How, he asked, can Africa build an integrated financial market with such restrictions in place?
He named compatible financial infrastructure, integrated markets and closer coordination of economic policies as priorities, and urged financial leaders to make it easier for businesses to raise funds across borders. His closing measure was simple: Africa's financial progress should be judged by whether its banks create opportunities, reduce poverty and improve living standards, not by how large their balance sheets grow.
What to watch next is whether regulators take up digital invoicing and pension reforms, and whether visa and cross-border barriers ease as integration advances.
Citazioni salienti
Integration must precede monetary union.— Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman, Access Holdings Plc
We can't use bank deposits, which can be withdrawn tomorrow, to finance long-term projects which require 20-year money.— Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman, Access Holdings Plc
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Economy & Finance