IFC and Access Holdings Partner to Expand Trade Finance and Support Enterprise Growth Across Africa
…… Partnership will connect more African businesses to international markets while strengthening Access Group’s capacity to finance trade and sustainable growth
Access Holdings Plc and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, have signed an agreement to expand trade finance and help African businesses access regional and global markets. The partnership will strengthen Access Group’s capacity to finance businesses, support cross-border trade and contribute to sustainable economic growth across its markets.
By reinforcing the Group’s capital position, the partnership will enable Access to sustain and expand financing for the enterprises and trade flows that drive Africa’s economies.
For IFC, the partnership reflects its focus on mobilizing private capital and working with 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. Under the agreed structure, IFC’s investment comprises:
The agreement was signed on the sidelines of the Africa Financial Industry Summit (AFIS) 2026 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.
Commenting on the transaction, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman, Access Holdings Plc, said: “Our partnership with IFC has always been anchored on a shared belief that strong African financial institutions are essential to Africa’s growth. This investment is a vote of confidence in the institution we have built and in the direction we are taking it. Having built scale across Africa, our task now is to turn that scale into value: for the businesses we finance, the trade we facilitate and the communities we serve.
“Strengthening Access Group’s capital base deepens its role as a bridge between Africa and global markets, enabling us to mobilise more trade finance and investment for African enterprises. This transaction is an important step in our wider programme to bring in long-term, like-minded capital that will support disciplined and sustainable growth across the Group.”
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. Across the World Bank Group, we are working to mobilize private capital, strengthen financial markets and create the conditions for private sector-led growth. This partnership with Access Group will help channel more financing to businesses across the continent and translate Africa’s entrepreneurial potential into greater economic opportunity.”
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Notes to Editors
About Access Holdings Plc
Access Holdings Plc is a non-operating financial holding company licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. The Company was established in 2022 following the regulatory, judicial, and shareholders’ approvals of the Scheme of Arrangement between Access Bank Plc and holders of its fully paid-up ordinary shares. The Company serves its various markets through five subsidiaries across the banking, lending, payment, pension administration and insurance sectors. The Company’s operating subsidiaries are Access Bank Plc, Hydrogen Payment Services Company Limited, Access Pensions Limited, Access Insurance Brokers Limited and Oxygen X Finance Company Limited.
About IFC
IFC—a member of the World Bank Group—is the largest global development institution focused on the private sector in emerging markets. We work in more than 100 countries, using our capital, expertise and influence to create markets and opportunities in developing countries. In fiscal year 2026, IFC committed a record US$105 billion to private companies and financial institutions in developing countries, leveraging private-sector solutions and mobilising private capital to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet. For more information, visit www.ifc.org
