The Price of Risk: Aig‑Imoukhuede’s Challenge to Unlock Africa’s Growth

Oluchi Chibuzor posits that the crusade by the Chairman of Access Holdings, Aigboje Aig‑Imoukhuede for lower cost of capital as a precondition for growth, competitiveness and institutional resilience is a timely intervention that will redeem Africa

At the Africa Forward Summit 2026 in Nairobi, Kenya, Chairman of Access Holdings and Chairman of the France Nigeria Business Council lowering the cost of capital as a precondition for growth, competitiveness and institutional resilience. (FNBC), Aigboje Aig‑Imoukhuede, focused attention on one of Africa’s most important economic priorities:

Speaking before a high-level audience that included 18 African Heads of State, President William Ruto of Kenya, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria, President Emmanuel Macron of France and leading global investors, Aig-Imoukhuede made a clear case for structural reform. Africa has already established its strategic relevance in the global economy. What is now required is the deliberate strengthening of the institutions, financial markets and investment frameworks that can translate that relevance into durable economic power. This can only be achieved through deliberate execution and collaboration.

From Potential to Execution

Positioning Africa within a rapidly evolving global order, Aig‑Imoukhuede argued that the continent is no longer peripheral to global change but central to it. However, he cautioned that opportunity without execution would not deliver transformation.

“Africa is not on the margins of global change; it is at the centre. But potential alone will not deliver transformation; capital mobilisation, institutional strength, and execution will,” he said.

This framing set the tone for a conversation that moved beyond optimism to the hard realities of economic competitiveness.

Cost of Being African: ‘Tax on Development’

At the heart of his intervention during a high-level Africa France Impact Coalition (AFIC) session was a stark assessment of Africa’s risk premium, what he described as one of the continent’s most critical barriers to growth.

Africa, he noted, continues to carry the highest aggregate risk premium globally, a factor that significantly inflates the cost of borrowing for both sovereigns and businesses. In practical terms, this means African economies routinely pay between 4% and 15% above U.S. Treasury rates, with distressed conditions pushing costs even higher, sometimes up to 20%, even in the absence of default.

“This risk premium is becoming essentially a tax on development, not a tax that we pay to our governments, but largely a tax that actually goes into external markets.”

Africa cannot build competitive economies when too much of its capital is consumed by the cost of financing rather than directed towards infrastructure, industrial expansion and job creation.

Constraint on Competitiveness

For Aig‑Imoukhuede, the consequence of this pricing distortion goes beyond balance sheets, it directly undermines Africa’s ability to compete globally.

He warned that while large corporations may have the capacity to absorb some of the burden, smaller businesses, the backbone of most African economies, are far more vulnerable.

The result is a structural disadvantage that limits entrepreneurship, stifles innovation, and slows industrialisation across the continent.

Practical Proposal and Policy Moment

As an experienced leader in bringing together private and public sector players, Aig‑Imoukhuede proposed the creation of a task force aimed at reducing Africa’s perceived risk profile over the medium term. Even a modest reduction, he argued, could have transformative impact.

His proposal triggered an immediate exchange with Kenya’s President William Ruto, who sought to clarify whether the focus was on interest rates or broader risk perception.

In response, Aig‑Imoukhuede emphasised that, the issue cuts across both debt and equity markets, shaping how Africa is priced globally, including by its own institutional investors.

President Ruto, while acknowledging the challenge, pointed to ongoing efforts among African governments and development finance institutions to address de-risking through existing frameworks. He also revealed active discussions with President Macron on establishing a dedicated institutional platform to support investment de-risking across the continent.

The exchange quickly emerged as one of the defining moments of the Summit, highlighting a rare convergence between political leadership and private sector voices on the urgency of lowering Africa’s cost of capital.

Reframing Inter-continental Partnerships

Aig‑Imoukhuede used the platform to call for a more balanced and commercially serious relationship between Africa and its global partners, particularly Europe. He argued that the next phase of cooperation must move beyond transactional engagement towards investment, institutional capacity, infrastructure, technology and shared economic value.

Africa should not be positioned merely as a destination for capital. It should be recognised as a strategic partner in building the next era of global growth. The question now is execution, and who will rise to meet it.