{"id":13223,"date":"2026-11-09T13:01:02","date_gmt":"2026-11-09T13:01:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/09\/banks-must-finance-infrastructure-to-drive-growth-warns-aig-imoukhuede-businessday-ng\/"},"modified":"2026-11-09T13:01:02","modified_gmt":"2026-11-09T13:01:02","slug":"banks-must-finance-infrastructure-to-drive-growth-warns-aig-imoukhuede-businessday-ng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/11\/09\/banks-must-finance-infrastructure-to-drive-growth-warns-aig-imoukhuede-businessday-ng\/","title":{"rendered":"Banks must finance infrastructure to drive growth, warns Aig-Imoukhuede – Businessday NG"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Access Holdings chairman, urges African banks to prioritise business and infrastructure financing over mere profitability.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede has warned that Africa\u2019s economic growth will remain limited unless its banks move beyond profitability and financial stability to finance businesses, infrastructure, and job creation.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

He also called for globally competitive African banks, easier access to credit, and deeper financial integration before the continent pursues a common currency.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

Speaking at the closing session of the Africa Financial Summit (AFIS) 2026 in Luanda, Angola, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede said Africa could no longer afford a financial system in which banks remain profitable while businesses struggle for funding and millions face limited economic opportunities.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cA banking system can be, can be as safe as you want it to be, it can be profitable, but then it can still serve an economy that is very underperforming,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Addressing the summit\u2019s theme, Making Capital Count: Unlocking Growth Through African Finance, he urged governments, central banks, and financial institutions to measure their success by their contribution to economic development and improved living standards.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

He identified poor access to working capital as a major obstacle facing small businesses, noting that many struggle to obtain financing even when supplying goods and services to financially strong companies.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen an SME supplies goods to a creditworthy buyer, that SME should be able to attract capital and financing at the same cost of the credit rating of that buyer immediately,\u201d he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

Citing India and Brazil, he urged African banks and regulators to adopt digital invoicing systems that would improve business financing and support economic expansion.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede also called for greater investment of pension funds and domestic savings in infrastructure, warning against using short-term bank deposits to finance long-term projects.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t use bank deposits, which can be withdrawn tomorrow, to finance long-term projects which require 20-year money,\u201d he said.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

He cited the Dangote Refinery as an example of large-scale investment opportunities and warned that excessive government borrowing could limit private-sector access to finance.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

Turning to the banking industry, he said the withdrawal of some international banks from Africa had created opportunities for indigenous institutions, but warned that African ownership alone would not guarantee progress.<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tkenneth Athekame<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Athekame Kenneth is a politics, economy, and finance reporter whose work is anchored in sharp investigative storytelling. He brings analytical depth to every piece, drawing on a strong academic foundation that includes a degree in Economics, an MBA in International Trade, and a minor in Petroleum Economics from Lagos State University, Ojo. His reporting blends rigorous research with a keen eye for hidden truths, delivering stories that illuminate power, policy, and the forces shaping everyday lives.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Businessday NG<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Access Holdings chairman, urges African banks to prioritise business and infrastructure financing over mere profitability. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede has warned that Africa\u2019s economic growth will remain limited unless its… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13224,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13223","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13223","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13223"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13223\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}