- At the inaugural Bloomberg Africa Business Summit, Access Bank CEO Roosevelt Ogbonna underscored that Africa is no longer a peripheral player but an emerging economic force, calling for a shift from exporting raw commodities to financing value addition, industrialisation, and regional supply chains through African-led banking systems.
- Ogbonna emphasised a “Global Africa” vision—where African banks design financing models suited to African realities, rewrite outdated risk perceptions through disciplined performance, and fill the widening gap left by retrenching Western banks—pushing the continent toward deeper integration, trade harmonisation, and infrastructure-led growth.
- He highlighted that the future of banking in Africa hinges on productive investment, innovation, and long-term leadership, with banks becoming full-spectrum partners supporting SMEs, cross-border enterprises, digital-first ecosystems, and youth-driven markets—anchoring a continent ready to claim its place in global value creation on its own terms.
At the inaugural Bloomberg Africa Business Summit, one question dominated every conversation: How do we fund Africa’s growth in an increasingly interconnected world?
For me, the answer begins with recognising that Africa is no longer a peripheral player in the global economy.
We are an emerging force, dynamic, young, resource-rich, and increasingly self-assured.
The challenge before us is to translate these strengths into sustainable economic power. And the banking sector will play a decisive role in making that happen.
During the Summit in Johannesburg, I spoke alongside two of the continent’s most respected banking leaders, Sim Tshabalala, Chief Executive of Standard Bank Group, and Kenny Fihla, Group CEO of Absa Group. Our conversation made one thing abundantly clear: Africa’s financial sector is no longer defined by fragmentation, but by convergence.
The shared experiences, challenges, and aspirations articulated on that stage underscored a growing alignment among Africa’s leading banks, an alignment rooted in a collective responsibility to accelerate the continent’s development and shape its role in the global economy.
Despite persistent geopolitical noise, African markets have displayed remarkable resilience. A recent example is Nigeria’s oversubscribed Eurobond issuance, a strong signal that global investors are more attuned to the continent’s fundamentals than the often-pessimistic narratives would suggest.
Markets, in many ways, are far more intelligent than the commentary that surrounds them. They reward reform-minded leadership, policy clarity, and credible commitments to transparency. When African governments demonstrate discipline and intentionality, investors, domestic and foreign, respond with confidence. That confidence is one of our most valuable currencies and one we must continue to cultivate.
But sustaining that confidence requires more than macroeconomic stability. It demands a structural shift in how African economies create value. For too long, Africa has occupied the weakest position in global value chains, exporting raw commodities and importing finished goods at a premium.
If the continent is to command greater voice in value creation, value capture, and value share, industrialisation must move from aspiration to deliberate strategy. And African banks must be at the forefront of financing this transformation. This is not optional; it is existential.
Our mineral deposits, agricultural output, and natural resources should no longer leave our shores with little or no beneficiation. Whether it is processing critical minerals for the energy transition, adding value to agricultural commodities, manufacturing pharmaceuticals, or building regional supply hubs, African banks must design financing models that support value addition, not just extraction.
We must fund factories, logistics systems, energy infrastructure, and technology platforms that enable the continent to retain a greater share of the wealth it generates. This is the only path to a stronger, more competitive Africa in global markets.
As I look ahead, I see an Africa not merely participating in global trade, but actively reshaping it. The continent has the potential to be a global hub for innovation, from renewable energy powered by abundant solar, hydro, and wind resources, to the buildout of data centres that will anchor a thriving digital-first economy.
Africa is already home to some of the world’s fastest-growing tech ecosystems. Its youthful population, digital-native, entrepreneurial, and globally connected, positions the continent as a frontier of both demand and innovation.
These opportunities are not distant aspirations; they are emerging realities. But unlocking them requires sustained, well-structured investment and a banking sector willing to take bold yet calculated bets on the continent’s future. For banks like Access, this future demands an expansion of our role. We can no longer operate as passive intermediaries.
We must become full-spectrum financial partners, providing commercial, corporate, and investment banking services that support businesses at every stage of growth, from the informal retailer in Lagos using digital tools to scale operations to the pan-African conglomerate deploying capital across borders.
Africa’s growth must be anchored on productive investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, technology, and human capital, not extractive models or short-term capital flows. Banks that succeed in this new era will be those that balance innovation with responsibility, and ambition with discipline.
One clear area of opportunity lies in the widening gap left by retreating Western banks. As global institutions recalibrate their risk appetites, African banks are uniquely positioned to step in. But our objective is not merely to occupy the space left behind. It is to design solutions better attuned to African realities: solutions that build resilience, enhance competitiveness, and empower businesses.
At Access, our expansion is guided by a “Global Africa” philosophy: the belief that Africa is not a collection of isolated markets, but an interconnected ecosystem with shared prospects. The continent’s future lies in deeper integration, in facilitating trade, harmonising financial systems, and building regional value chains that unlock scale. African banks bring local expertise, cultural fluency, and grounded understanding of market behaviour, advantages foreign incumbents often lack.
Ambition must be paired with resolve. African banks must confront the perception premium that unfairly inflates the cost of capital across our markets. Risk in Africa is frequently overstated, shaped by decades of inaccurate assumptions and outdated data.
Part of our job is to rewrite that narrative, not through rhetoric, but through performance: transparency, disciplined governance, and consistent execution. By deepening domestic capital markets, facilitating intra-African trade, financing industrialisation, and supporting strategic sectors, we can unlock opportunities long constrained by mispriced perceptions of risk.
Ultimately, the future of banking in Africa will be shaped by leadership that marries global perspective with local ownership. We must navigate international financial systems with sophistication while remaining deeply invested in the continent’s development. This means financing infrastructure that connects regions, supporting SMEs that drive employment, nurturing innovation hubs, and empowering the next generation of African talent.
It also means recognising that our financial destiny cannot be outsourced. It must be built, patiently, strategically, and collaboratively, by Africans themselves.
Africa has everything it needs: resources, talent, and ingenuity. What we require now is collective vision and strategic alignment to fund our own growth. The Bloomberg Africa Business Summit was a powerful reminder that while global partnerships matter, Africa’s long-term success will be determined by what we build, how boldly we lead, and how confidently we claim our place in the global economy.
The future of banking in Africa is not just about profits or balance sheets. It is about enabling a Global Africa, a continent that knows its worth, shapes its narrative, and creates prosperity on its own terms.
- Roosevelt Ogbonna is Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank PLC
