How UBA Pushed Africa Business Stories to Centre of Global Conversations at UNGA81

At UNGA81 in New York, the United Bank for Africa (UBA) moved Africa’s business story from the sidelines to the centre of global conversations. Led by Group Managing Director/CEO Oliver Alawuba, the bank used a week of high-level engagements to make the case for easier capital flows, intra-African trade and stronger partnerships — from calling for the dismantling of regulatory and currency barriers at the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium, Global Conversations 2026, to engaging investors at the Bullish Africa Annual Summit 2026, exploring expanded trade finance cooperation with U.S. EXIM leadership, hosting Nigerian leaders including the Emir of Kano and three state governors at UBA America, and meeting World Bank President Ajay Banga on mobilising long-term capital for infrastructure, energy, agribusiness and SMEs. Chiemelie Ezeobi reports 

“When you look at Africa, 54 countries, you look at a big building with 54 rooms and each room has big walls… What we need to do for capital to flow is to bring down the walls.”

Those were the words of Oliver Alawuba, Group Managing Director/CEO of United Bank for Africa (UBA), speaking as a panelist on the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium, Global Conversations 2026 at the Harvard Club, New York.

Forward Africa Leaders Symposium

“When you do business in Africa, you meet multiple regulations. You deal with central banks, with several policies. Now these policies at times are a hindrance to capital,” he told the gathering of global leaders, investors and development stakeholders on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

“So you have a bank, about $30 billion dollars in terms of total assets, so you have the war chest to deploy capital across… The same thing with currency. Even when you succeed in deploying capital to a country, then currency becomes an issue at times to bring back that capital. Currency becomes a big risk,” he said.

He illustrated the challenge with the everyday reality of intra-African trade: “Someone, a farmer, a tea farmer in Kenya trying to sell to Ghana, you have to go through a dollar currency to do that and that is difficult.”

While welcoming the African Continental Free Trade Area, Alawuba noted that payment systems remain a major hurdle: “…that’s where we are working to develop a payment platform… And we are pioneering that with several countries and it’s working, however we need more of those walls to come down so that we can be free and then we can support businesses across Africa.”

On small businesses, he added: “We have also had an agreement with the African Continental Free Trade Area for a $6 billion US dollar fund to support SMEs… we need SMEs to rise and we need government to support the rise.”

Alawuba’s remarks set the tone for a week in which UBA used New York and UNGA81 to push Africa’s business story to the centre of global conversations, not just about aid or diplomacy, but about money, partnerships and opportunities to turn ambitions into real businesses, projects and jobs.

As a panelist at the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium – Global Conversations 2026, Alawuba placed UBA’s experience at the heart of the discussion on trade barriers. With presence in 20 African countries and in the world’s financial centres including the UK, he said the bank is focused not just on business in Africa, but on development. 

The core of his message was practical: for capital to move, regulatory walls must come down, payment systems must improve, and SMEs must be empowered to grow beyond their immediate markets.

Bullish Africa Annual Summit 2026

That conversation continued at the Bullish Africa Annual Summit 2026 in New York which brought together investors, business leaders and other stakeholders to discuss Africa’s economic prospects and its place in the global economy. Alawuba was among the voices representing the African business community. 

UBA’s position was that while Africa holds enormous opportunities, converting them into successful investments requires more than capital. It requires institutions that understand the markets, businesses that know what they need, and partnerships capable of connecting the two. UBA positioned itself as that bridge.

Meeting With U.S. EXIM Leadership

Another significant engagement was a meeting with the leadership of the United States Export-Import Bank. Alawuba explored ways to expand the longstanding relationship between UBA and U.S. EXIM, including possible U.S. EXIM support for UBA’s trade finance activities, particularly for businesses importing American goods and services.

 Project financing and structured financing were also part of the conversation. For African businesses, such relationships can open another route to international capital and ease participation in transactions involving global suppliers. UBA America’s established relationship with U.S. EXIM formed an important anchor for the discussions.

An Evening With Nigerian Leaders

UBA’s UNGA activities extended beyond financial institutions and investors as the bank hosted His Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi II, Emir of Kano, alongside Lagos State Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu; Katsina State Governor, Dikko Umaru Radda; and Zamfara State Governor Dauda Lawal, at its UBA America office at 575 Fifth Avenue in New York.

According to Alawuba, the evening was centred on partnership and development priorities, from infrastructure and agriculture to healthcare, education, technology and job creation and how UBA’s international network and experience could support state-level development efforts.

Noting that many people come to America from Nigeria, but they often lack that feeling of home, he said offering that support through UBA America is a call to serve society as a whole, and “we want to do everything we can to uplift our collective status.

​”Nigeria is gaining positive recognition in global conversations now more than ever before. Given all the discussions I have had, I can tell you that I am deeply proud of Nigeria and its role on the continent. UBA has become a major talking point today, serving as clear proof that Africa is a land of great promise.

​”At the forefront of that promise is Nigeria. This is largely due to how the government has managed the country’s macroeconomic conditions, as well as the significant contributions we see coming from sectors like real estate. Rather than just competing, we are driving real development. This is very good news”.

Meeting With World Bank President Ajay Banga

Perhaps one of the clearest indications of the direction of UBA’s UNGA outing was Alawuba’s meeting with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga.

 Their discussion focused on how more capital can be mobilised for Africa’s development, with infrastructure, energy, agribusiness, SMEs and regional trade among the areas considered. 

For many African economies, the challenge remains moving beyond limited domesc resources to attract long-term private investment into projects that require substantial funding. 

UBA sees its footprint across 20 African markets as an advantage in identifying bankable projects, connecting them to financing and supporting implementation.

More Than Meetings In New York

Taken together, UBA’s engagements in New York tell a coherent story. It was not simply a delegation attending meetings during UNGA81. 

From SMEs looking to expand, to governments seeking support for development projects, and companies engaged in cross-border trade, the bank used its presence to bring African opportunities into the same conversation with the institutions, investors and partners capable of turning them into something tangible.

For a bank that operates from within the markets where those opportunities exist, that conversation is happening not from a distance, but from the inside.