Business a.m.
When Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman, Access Holdings, stepped into the AfriCaribbean Trade & Investment Forum (ACTIF) 2025 in Grenada, the agenda was global, linking Africa and the Caribbean through new pathways in trade, energy, and digital innovation. Days later, he was thousands of miles away, walking through the halls of Zambia’s largest referral hospital, where Access Bank Zambia had just renovated a maternity ward.
The shift in setting, from high-level international dealmaking to hands-on community impact, captures the essence of Access Holdings’ approach: to make a positive impact in Africa
L-R: Dickon Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of Access Holdings Plc, at the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF) 2025 in Grenada… recently.
Building bridges at ACTIF 2025
At ACTIF 2025, Aig-Imoukhuede joined heads of government, business leaders, and investors to explore opportunities for stronger Africa–Caribbean economic collaboration.
The discussions, focused on sectors like tourism, agriculture, renewable energy, and digital trade, highlighted the untapped potential for trade and investment flows between the two regions.
Accompanying him, Sunmbo Olatunji, CEO for Caribbean Expansion, Access Bank, described the bank as a “bridge” for cross-continental partnerships. “We are building pathways for trade and investment that will outlast today’s market cycles,” she noted, underscoring the Group’s commitment to long-term, sustainable growth.
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman, Access Holdings Plc (left), and Zambian President, Hakainde Hichilema (right), during a courtesy visit by Aig-Imoukhuede to the President at the State House in Lusaka, recently.
Powering Zambia’s economic future
Fresh from ACTIF, Aig-Imoukhuede travelled to Lusaka for a high-level meeting with President Hakainde Hichilema. Discussions centred on Zambia’s energy and agriculture sectors, with the chairman pledging up to $100 million in financing for strategic projects aimed at closing the country’s power generation and transmission gaps.
President Hichilema welcomed the commitment, stressing that increased energy investment would boost key industries, particularly mining, where copper production is expected to reach 1 million metric tonnes this year.
L-R: Kalumbu Nyikosa-Kearns, head of corporate communications and brand management, Access Bank Zambia; Mildred Kaunda, acting board chair, Access Bank Zambia; Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, chairman, Access Holdings PLC; W.K Mutale Nalumango, Zambia’s vice-president; Lishala C. Situmbeko, Access Bank Zambia, country managing director; Mavis Nkomesha, permanent secretary in the Office of the Vice-President, and her counterpart, Ndiwa Mutelo, during the visit to Nalumango in Lusaka
CSI at the heart of community ties
The chairman also paid a courtesy visit to Zambia’s Vice-President W.K. Mutale Nalumango, where the spotlight shifted to Access Bank’s community impact and growing footprint in Zambia. She cited the renovation of Maternity Ward B03 at the University Teaching Hospital and ongoing capacity-building programmes for women as clear examples of the Group’s commitment to social transformation.
Aig-Imoukhuede was joined by Lishala C. Situmbeko, Access Bank Zambia managing director, and Mildred Kaunda, acting board chairperson, who reiterated the subsidiary’s role in delivering innovative financial solutions and empowering Zambians.
“Zambia is central to our pan-African vision. We are here to build enduring partnerships that unlock prosperity and improve lives,” said Aig-Imoukhuede.
One vision, many fronts
From forging trade links between Africa and the Caribbean to financing Zambia’s energy ambitions and improving local healthcare, Access Holdings is operating from a single, unifying vision: To be the World’s most respected African financial services group.
