James Akintunde: From Talk To Action – How Access Bank Is Turning Africa’s Trade Vision Into Reality 

For a long time, Africa has been described as “the future.” A continent full of promise, energy, and untapped markets. But promise doesn’t move containers across borders. It doesn’t build factories or create resilient businesses. Action does. And action requires institutions that are willing to think beyond their home markets and beyond short-term wins. That’s why the Access Bank Africa Trade Conference felt less like a regular industry gathering and more like a moment of reckoning for how Africa’s trade story is being rewritten.

From the first session, the tone was different. There was very little interest in abstract theory. This was about execution. About systems. About the unglamorous, practical work of connecting markets, fixing bottlenecks, and financing growth. The core question that hung in the air was simple but urgent: how does Africa move from being a collection of fragmented economies into a connected, competitive trade bloc?

That question was answered most clearly by Roosevelt Ogbonna, Group Managing Director and CEO of Access Bank Plc. His message cut through the noise: “Africa cannot keep waiting for global systems to accommodate it on fair terms. We must design our own pathways, build our own trade finance architecture, and grow our own institutions to global standards. Not in isolation from the world, but on our own terms.” He framed Africa not as a charity case in global trade, but as a serious economic actor that needs to claim its seat with confidence.

That vision was matched by operational reality from Seyi Kumapayi, Executive Director of African Subsidiaries at Access Bank. Trade, he explained, “doesn’t work in speeches. It works in systems, payments that clears quickly, financing that matches business cycles, regulatory processes that don’t punish cross-border ambition”. With Access Bank now present in over 20 African markets, Kumapayi spoke about the responsibility that comes with scale: using the bank’s footprint to make movement across Africa easier, not harder.

What made the conference especially powerful was the mix of voices in the room. Policymakers weren’t sitting on a distant stage. They were in the same conversations as manufacturers, logistics operators, exporters, fintech founders, and investors. Everyone was grappling with the same reality: Africa’s trade problem isn’t a lack of opportunity. It’s a lack of coordination.

Too many African businesses are still trapped by avoidable obstacles, limited access to trade finance, inconsistent payment systems, weak market intelligence, and the absence of trusted partners across borders. These aren’t theoretical challenges. They are the daily friction points that stop small and medium-sized businesses from becoming regional players. What stood out about Access Bank’s approach is that it isn’t just trying to fund trade. It’s trying to enable it through advisory support, networks, digital platforms, and partnerships that go beyond traditional banking.

Intra-African trade came up repeatedly. For a continent of more than 1.4 billion people, Africa still trades shockingly little with itself. We export raw materials and import finished goods. We know this story. But the conference didn’t dwell on the problem. It focused on what it will take to change it: aligned policies, better infrastructure, smarter logistics, and financial institutions willing to underwrite risk across borders.

Access Bank’s role here is significant. With subsidiaries across West, East, Central, and Southern Africa, the bank is one of the few institutions with the reach to connect producers, buyers, and markets in a meaningful way. Kumapayi described this as moving from presence to purpose, using the network to actively shorten the distance between African suppliers and African consumers.

There was also a candid conversation about Africa’s place in global value chains. The future isn’t about isolation or protectionism. It’s about leverage. Ogbonna spoke about building African companies that don’t just export raw materials, but participate in manufacturing, processing, logistics, and services. Companies that can negotiate, compete, and partner globally from a position of strength.

What stayed with me long after the conference ended is that trade is no longer just an economic issue. It’s a leadership issue. It takes courage to invest beyond election cycles. Discipline to build institutions instead of shortcuts. And humility to collaborate across borders, sectors, and egos.

The Access Bank Africa Trade Conference didn’t pretend to have all the answers. But it did something arguably more important: it changed the mindset in the room from possibility to responsibility. Responsibility to stop waiting for perfect conditions. Responsibility to build African trade the hard way—patiently, practically, and together.
If institutions like Access Bank continue to lead with this kind of clarity and commitment, then Africa’s trade future won’t just be discussed at conferences. It will be built deal by deal, corridor by corridor, and business by business.

The second Access Bank Africa Trade Conference (ATC) 2026, set for 11 March 2026 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in South Africa, will be a strategic, high-level convening aimed at moving Africa’s trade agenda from vision to execution by fostering collaboration among policymakers, financiers, global investors, and business leaders. Under the theme “Turning Vision into Velocity: Building Africa’s Trade Ecosystem for Real-World Impact,” the conference’s programme will include ministerial panels, high-level plenaries, partner-led workshops, innovation and exhibition arenas, and networking sessions to generate actionable solutions for scaling intra-African and global trade through policy alignment, infrastructure development, digitalisation, and innovative financing. Expected outcomes include enhanced capital flows, practical frameworks for implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), strengthened trade-finance and payment systems, and increased market access for SMEs and larger enterprises, all designed to foster inclusive economic growth and unlock Africa’s trade potential on the global stage.

James Akintunde: From Talk to action – How Access Bank is turning Africa’s trade vision into reality