By SIMEON OGOEGBULEM
Access Holdings Plc and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, have signed an agreement to expand trade finance and help African businesses access regional and global markets. The partnership will strengthen Access Group’s capacity to finance businesses, support cross-border trade and contribute to sustainable economic growth across its markets.
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the just concluded Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS) 2026, which was held in Luanda, Angola. The signatories to the agreement are the Chairman, Access Holdings Plc, AigbojeAig-Imoukhuede, IFC Regional Vice President for Africa, Ethiopis Tafara, and Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc, Roosevelt Ogbonna,.
Financial analysts said the agreement between the two financial institutions would reinforce the Access Holding Group’s capital position. The analysts also stated that the partnership will enable Access to sustain and expand financing for the enterprises and trade flows that drive Africa’s economies.
For IFC, the partnership reflects its focus on mobilizing private capital and working with financial institutions to expand access to finance, strengthen markets and create more opportunities for businesses to grow and create jobs. It also supports Access Holdings’ focus on converting the scale it has built across Africa into lasting value for the businesses it finances, the economies it serves and its shareholders.
IFC’s investment forms part of Access Holdings Plc’s broader capital-raising programme, designed to attract development finance institutions and other investors and support disciplined growth across its markets. Under the agreed structure, IFC’s investment comprises:
Aig-Imoukhuede stated that the Acces Holdings partnership with IFC has always been anchored on a shared belief that strong African financial institutions are essential to Africa’s growth.
He described the new partnership as “a vote of confidence in the institution we have built and in the direction we are taking it”, adding that “having built scale across Africa, our task now is to turn that scale into value: for the businesses we finance, the trade we facilitate and the communities we serve”.
“Strengthening Access Group’s capital base deepens its role as a bridge between Africa and global markets, enabling us to mobilise more trade finance and investment for African enterprises”, the Access Holdings Chairman stated.
According to AigiImoukhuede, the “transaction is an important step in our wider programme to bring in long-term, like-minded capital that will support disciplined and sustainable growth across the Group.”
In his remarks, Tafara noted that expanding access to trade finance is essential to helping African businesses grow, reach new markets and create jobs pointing out that “across the World Bank Group, we are working to mobilize private capital, strengthen financial markets and create the conditions for private sector-led growth”.
He expressed optimism that the partnership with Access Group would help channel more financing to businesses across the continent and translate Africa’s entrepreneurial potential into greater economic opportunity.
