Access Holdings takes capital push to Luanda summit

Access Holdings and its main banking arm, Access Bank, are in Luanda, Angola, this week for the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) 2026, where they are Diamond Sponsors. The two-day meeting opened on Tuesday, 3 November.

The group is using the platform to argue that African banks should turn their size into visible gains for the continent's economy, rather than simply growing bigger.

Chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede is leading the delegation. With him are Access Bank's Managing Director and Chief Executive, Roosevelt Ogbonna, and Seyi Kumapayi, Executive Director for African Subsidiaries.

Why it matters to Nigerians

For everyday bank customers, the summit's themes touch on familiar problems: sending and receiving money across African borders, getting loans for small businesses, and bringing people who have no bank account into the formal system.

Access Bank has expanded across several African countries in recent years. The group says the point of that reach is to link markets, support businesses and make financial services easier to reach, especially for underserved households.

Ogbonna put the case simply: “Businesses need finance that moves across borders as easily as their ambitions do.” He said the bank would use the summit to show how its African footprint is being turned into practical value for customers.

The summit is co-hosted by the International Finance Corporation, the private-sector arm of the World Bank, and Jeune Afrique Media Group. It has drawn more than 1,250 African and global financial leaders and regulators.

Its theme is “Making Capital Count: Unlocking Growth Through African Finance”. Discussions are expected to focus on drawing in private investment, steering finance into the real economy, turning African savings into African investment and deepening regional integration.

Access Holdings says it will push for closer cooperation between banks, governments, regulators, investors and the private sector, arguing that no single institution can build the continent's financial capacity alone.

The group said updates on its participation will come through its official channels under #AFIS2026.