Chairman of Access Holdings and Coronation Group, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, says Africa must move beyond isolated examples of large-scale development and build systems capable of repeatedly producing and sustaining globally competitive enterprises
Aig-Imoukhuede made the call while hosting current and former members of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders community at Access Tower, Lagos, for the Finance and Investment segment of the Aliko Dangote Foundation/World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders Africa-Diaspora Leadership Programme on Friday, September 11, 2026.
According to a press release issued on Tuesday, the engagement, themed “Finance, Capital and the Real Economics of Building at Scale in Africa,” examined the financing, infrastructure, governance, talent and institutional requirements for building African enterprises of global scale.
The session followed the participants’ visit to the Dangote Refinery, which was used as a practical case study to examine the cost and tenor of capital, infrastructure and logistics constraints, development finance, backward integration, technology, talent, capital markets and the discipline required to translate ambition into enduring enterprise.
Reflecting on the refinery project and the broader challenge of African development, Aig-Imoukhuede said, “My dilemma as an African is that for the continent to realise its potential, vision, governance, and execution must happen repeatedly across several nations at the same time. It cannot remain episodic.”
He added, “We cannot wait 20 years between mega-projects.”
The Access Holdings chairman also identified institutional continuity as a major requirement for Africa to sustain its development gains, saying the continent must learn to transfer successful institutions and visions across generations.
“Furthermore, we must fix our greatest handicap, learning how to successfully transfer great visions and institutions from one generation to the next without restarting from the bottom,” he said.
Aig-Imoukhuede further stressed the importance of combining vision, governance and execution in building institutions capable of enduring over time.
“Vision attracts capital, governance maintains capital, and execution by great talent compounds capital. All three must be present for an institution to endure,” he said.
The discussions also focused on how Africa can develop a more repeatable model of capital formation and institution-building, including deeper domestic capital markets and greater mobilisation of pension, insurance, sovereign and private capital.
Aig-Imoukhuede called for Africa’s financial architecture to cover the full yield curve, linking short-term commercial financing with the long-term institutional capital required to fund businesses and infrastructure across generations.
The press release said contributors to the engagement included Zouera Youssoufou, Managing Director/CEO of the Aliko Dangote Foundation; Innocent C. Ike, Group CEO, Access Holdings; Obeahon Ohiwerei, Managing Director/CEO, Coronation Merchant Bank; Adebayo Adewolu, CEO, Trium; Temi Popoola, Group Managing Director/CEO, NGX Group; Chuka Eseka, Group Managing Director/CEO, Vetiva Capital Management; David Bird, Managing Director, Dangote Refinery; Kola Karim, Chairman, Shoreline Natural Resources; and Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder and Managing Partner, Aruwa Capital Management.
Zouera Youssoufou noted that developing visionary leadership and expanding Africa’s capital ecosystems remain fundamental to the continent’s long-term prosperity.
The programme identified Africa’s challenge not as a lack of ambition or entrepreneurial capacity, but as the need to strengthen the capital, institutional and operating systems required to help ambitious enterprises achieve scale and endure.
Closing his remarks, Aig-Imoukhuede challenged the Young Global Leaders to take responsibility for building institutions capable of advancing Africa’s development.
“We know that figures like Aliko Dangote are rare, but all of you must be game changers. With the intellect, network and courage you possess, there are no excuses,” he said.
He added, “You share the mantle of responsibility to carry these principles forward and build the enduring institutions Africa requires.”
The Finance and Investment engagement formed part of the wider ADF/WEF YGL Africa-Diaspora Leadership Programme, which brings together current and former Young Global Leaders and senior African decision-makers to examine practical models for building and sustaining African enterprises at scale.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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