Access Holdings And IFC Seal Big Partnership To Boost Trade Finance For African Businesses

Luanda, Angola, Nov. 4, 2026

Access Holdings Plc and the International Finance Corporation, IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, have signed a major agreement to expand trade finance and support enterprise growth across Africa.

The partnership was signed on the sidelines of the Africa Financial Industry Summit, AFIS 2026, in Luanda, Angola.

The agreement is designed to help more African businesses connect to regional and international markets, while strengthening Access Group’s capacity to finance trade and drive sustainable economic growth.

By reinforcing the Group’s capital position, the partnership will enable Access to sustain and expand financing for the enterprises and trade flows that power Africa’s economies.

For IFC, the partnership reflects its focus on mobilizing private capital and working with strong 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.

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

Speaking on the transaction, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman, Access Holdings Plc, said the 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 investment as a vote of confidence in the institution Access has built and in the direction it is taking.

He said having built scale across Africa, the task now is to turn that scale into value for the businesses Access finances, the trade it facilitates and the communities it serves.

He added that strengthening Access Group’s capital base deepens its role as a bridge between Africa and global markets, enabling the Group to mobilise more trade finance and investment for African enterprises.

According to him, the transaction is an important step in the wider programme to bring in long-term, like-minded capital that will support disciplined and sustainable growth across the Group.

Also speaking, Ethiopis Tafara, IFC Regional Vice President for Africa, said expanding access to trade finance is essential to helping African businesses grow, reach new markets and create jobs.

He said across the World Bank Group, they are working to mobilize private capital, strengthen financial markets and create the conditions for private sector-led growth.

He noted that the partnership with Access Group will help channel more financing to businesses across the continent and translate Africa’s entrepreneurial potential into greater economic opportunity.

Access Holdings Plc is a non-operating financial holding company licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria.

The Company was established in 2022 and serves its various markets through five subsidiaries across banking, lending, payment, pension administration and insurance sectors.

Its operating subsidiaries are Access Bank Plc, Hydrogen Payment Services Company Limited, Access Pensions Limited, Access Insurance Brokers Limited and Oxygen X Finance Company Limited.

IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. It works in more than 100 countries, using its capital, expertise and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries.

In fiscal year 2026, IFC committed a record 105 billion US dollars to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries.