Nigerian banking group Access Holdings and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the World Bank Group’s private-sector arm, signed an agreement in Luanda on 4 November 2026 to expand trade finance across Africa. Concluded on the sidelines of the Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS), the partnership is intended to help the group finance more companies involved in regional and international commerce.
The planned IFC investment forms part of Access Holdings’ wider capital-raising programme, which seeks to attract development finance institutions and other long-term investors. Strengthening its capital base would give the group greater capacity to support businesses and their cross-border transactions. The statement released by Access Holdings does not specify the size of the IFC commitment or the financial instruments involved.
More capital for cross-border business
For the bank’s corporate customers, the focus is on access to funding for buying and selling goods across borders. Access Holdings sees a stronger capital position as a way to expand the financing it can provide to businesses trading within Africa and with global markets.
Group chairman Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede outlined this long-term financing strategy at the signing. The agreement was also signed by Ethiopis Tafara, IFC’s regional vice-president for Africa, and Roosevelt Ogbonna, chief executive of Access Bank. Tafara said wider access to trade finance would help African businesses reach new markets.
The initiative draws on a banking network already operating in several parts of the continent. According to Access Holdings’ corporate website, the group operates in Nigeria and through fourteen banking subsidiaries across Africa. It intends to use this footprint to increase financing for businesses in its markets.