IFC and Access Holdings sign trade finance deal for African businesses

Access Holdings Plc and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private-sector arm of the World Bank Group, have signed an agreement to widen trade finance for businesses across Africa. The deal was sealed on Wednesday in Luanda, Angola, on the sidelines of the Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS) 2026.

For the ordinary trader or small business owner, the promise is simpler access to the money that keeps goods moving across borders. Access Group says the fresh capital will let it lend more to companies and support trade between African countries and with markets abroad.

The agreement was signed by Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Holdings; Ethiopis Tafara, IFC Regional Vice President for Africa; and Roosevelt Ogbonna, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank Plc.

What each side is saying

Aig-Imoukhuede said the tie-up rests on the belief that strong African banks are central to the continent's growth. He described the IFC's backing as a vote of confidence in the institution Access has built and in the direction it is heading.

"Having built scale across Africa, our task now is to turn that scale into value," he said.

He added that a stronger capital base would help the group act as a bridge between African enterprises and global markets, drawing in more trade finance and investment. The transaction, he said, is part of a wider push to attract long-term investors who share the group's goals.

Tafara said widening access to trade finance is key to helping African businesses grow, reach new markets and create jobs. He said the World Bank Group is working to pull in private capital, deepen financial markets and create room for growth led by the private sector.

For the IFC, the deal fits its strategy of working through banks to get more finance to businesses and support employment.

What happens next

Both parties described the agreement as part of Access Holdings' broader capital-raising programme, which is aimed at bringing in development finance institutions and other long-term investors. Neither outlet reported the size of the IFC investment or when the funds would be deployed.

What is clear is the direction: more lending capacity for businesses that trade across African borders, a segment that often struggles to find affordable finance.