First HoldCo appoints former Afreximbank executive Gwen Mwaba to Board

First HoldCo Plc has appointed Gwen Mwaba, a former senior executive at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), as a Non-Executive Director, strengthening its board with her experience in trade finance, credit risk and development finance.

The company announced this in a disclosure filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and signed by Group Company Secretary, Abiola Baruwa.

Mwaba brings nearly three decades of experience across global banking and development finance institutions, with expertise spanning corporate and sovereign lending, structured trade and commodity finance, portfolio management and emerging-market risk.

CBN approval received

In the disclosure, First HoldCo said the appointment had received regulatory approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and would take effect from October 15, 2026.

• “In accordance with Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) Rulebook, we hereby notify NGX and the investing public that the Board of Directors of First HoldCo Plc is pleased to announce the appointment of Gwen Mwaba as a Non-Executive Director (NED) with effect from October 15, 2026, following the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria,” the disclosure read in part.

The company said Mwaba’s experience covers corporate governance and board oversight, credit risk and portfolio management, banking strategy, capital deployment, development finance, environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations, and emerging-market risk.

Profile of Gwen Mwaba

Until recently, Mwaba served as Managing Director of Trade Finance and Correspondent Banking at Afreximbank, based in Cairo, Egypt.

In that role, she had executive responsibility for trade finance and structured credit activities across Africa and the Caribbean, overseeing a portfolio of $19.5 billion in sovereign, financial institution and corporate exposures.

• She also contributed to the bank’s Pre-Credit and Credit Committees, providing senior-level credit assessment on major lending transactions, while overseeing portfolio strategy, sector exposures and country risk limits.

Before that, she was Regional Head for Anglophone West Africa at Afreximbank, where she oversaw regional strategy and credit origination across Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia and Cape Verde.

• Earlier in her career, Mwaba served as Executive Vice President of Structured Trade and Commodity Finance at Standard Bank Plc in London. She was responsible for complex commodity finance, export-credit-agency-backed facilities and pre-export financing transactions across Africa.
• Her previous banking roles also include senior positions at Stanbic Bank Zambia and Standard Bank South Africa, including Head of Vehicle and Asset Finance and Head of Corporate Banking.
• Beyond banking, Mwaba has served on the editorial board of Trade Treasury & Payments. Until recently, she was also a member of the Multilateral Institutions Board Advisory Panel of the International Trade & Forfaiting Association and the World Trade Organization-led Expert Group on Trade Finance.

She holds a Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University, United Kingdom, and a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University.

Mwaba is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and holds a professional qualification from the Chartered Institute of Transport.

First HoldCo’s financial performance

Mwaba’s appointment follows First HoldCo’s strong financial performance for the half year ended June 30, 2026.

• The group reported gross earnings of N1.93 trillion, representing a 16.7% increase year-on-year, while operating income rose by 25.8% to N1.38 trillion.
• Profit before tax climbed by 83.5% to N653.5 billion, reflecting improved earnings as the group continued its balance sheet transformation.

The appointment adds an experienced banking and trade finance executive to the board as First HoldCo continues to pursue its strategic priorities.