In 2002, Herbert Wigwe and Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede set out to transform a bank in Africa. But this was not just any institutional turnaround; it was the beginning of one of the continent’s most ambitious banking growth stories. Armed with the belief that Africa and its people were an untapped market, these two men began small and grew through strategic mergers and acquisitions, a skill that has come to define what they have built.
Today, that bank is Access Bank Plc Group, a giant in the African banking scene and part of the movement building homegrown solutions tailored for the continent. From this trail-blazing heritage comes Dr Iheanyi Nwogu, the current Managing Director and CEO of Access Bank Zambia. I met Iheanyi for breakfast at the Neelkanth Sarovar Premiere, a hotel that has become a fixture on Lusaka’s skyline. I am usually early for these interviews, but I found him waiting for me, cutting a sharp, clean-cut figure and oozing efficiency. We went straight into our conversation.
What struck me about Iheanyi’s profile is his educational background in Surveying, Geodesy and Photogrammetry, now known as Geoinformatics. I wondered how a surveyor took such a sharp turn, but his answer suggests that his foray into banking was meant to be. “That’s what parents do, we choose for our children. But when I went to university, I began discovering myself. As a surveying student, you have no business wearing a suit and tie, but I always did. In all my university groups, I was the financial secretary or treasurer. When I left school, I was engaged to my wife, and I needed a quick win, a job that would help me settle down quickly. My first interview was with a bank, and they asked me why I wanted to be a banker. I answered, ‘My parents chose surveying for me; now I am choosing banking for myself.’”
And as fate would have it, his surveying training plays a big role in his success. He tells me, “In surveying, if you move an inch, you have encroached on someone’s land; in the same way, in banking, if you add a zero, you enter a world of trouble. So, surveying developed my analytical skills and taught me the importance of precision and accuracy. I was a superstar in computations; when people were looking for calculators, I had already worked out the solution.”
Access’s expansion strategy has been deeply rooted in mergers and acquisitions since its founding, with over 14 deals completed across the continent to date. In Zambia, the bank’s DNA has remained the same. In 2021, it acquired Cavmont Bank, and in 2024, it acquired and merged with Atlas Mara to create a top-five bank. “If there’s one thing our group is very good at, it is mergers and acquisitions. Our home bank grew astronomically through mergers and acquisitions. Here in Zambia, we gave ourselves a target to merge all processes and operations in one year, and we have done it.” He continues, “I joke and say, a child that was born two years ago is no longer a baby; in our culture, that child is even ready for a younger sibling. I am very ready to go into another M&A deal, if the opportunity presents itself.”
Nigeria is home to Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, whose $20 billion refinery project has become one of the continent’s most ambitious industrial developments. Access Bank was among the lead arrangers on financing linked to the project with Afreximbank. When I speak about SMEs, Iheanyi lights up. I have struck a chord. I asked him why West Africans are so good at business. He answered in true African fashion, with a proverb: “What one fool can do, another fool can do, all fools being equal. We should be ready to fail. You cannot succeed without failing. Everyone who has been successful has failed at one point, but they did not allow the failure to hold them back.”
He continues, “I want to see young people from Zambia who will be ready to dare and try again, even though they have failed. Failure does not define a man. It’s the getting up after failing. I have a personal target to mentor 10 SMEs and make them bank-ready by the end of 2026, so that by next year, these SMEs will be able to tell their story. That is the only way to grow the real economy of Zambia and become less dependent on the government.”
Iheanyi’s upbringing as the first male child in a large family primed him for leadership. “I am the first son and the third child. In our part of the world, the first son has a responsibility because he will take over from his father. My parents groomed me to have a large heart to accommodate and help people. They trained me to be selfless, and my father who was a chartered accountant would never give me money without accounting for what he had given me before. It was my father who prepared me for banking and accountability without knowing it.”
You do not have to spend much time with Iheanyi to conclude that he is a man marked by discipline and driven by process. I am always curious to learn how the people I interview achieved their perceived success. Iheanyi grew up in a regimented home, and his faith has been fundamental to his success. “I don’t go home without attending to all the files on my table, and I don’t sleep without reading all my emails. I wake up fresh. A big part of me you should know is that I am a Christian. When I wake up, I pray, read my scriptures, and sing hymns or worship songs. Then I can check on my wife in Nigeria, and then we pray together.”
He is also a believer in the power of mentorship, especially for young men. As we concluded our chat, I asked him to reflect on what he would tell his younger self and the advice he would give to young people today, in an ever-evolving generation fuelled by TikTok and memes. “Life is a process. If I were to talk to my younger self, I would tell myself to say no quickly, especially when things don’t make sense, and not to place a relationship over structure. I would also say, look for someone to be accountable to. I have accountability partners in my career, my marriage, and my spiritual journey. These days, people don’t want to be teachable. But if you can be accountable and teachable, you will go very far.”
To be Pan-African is to believe in the unification, empowerment and shared progress of Africa and its people. To hear someone from Nigeria speak with passion about the impact of his business in Zambia and, most importantly, his own investment in mentorship of SMEs and young business people, fills me with hope: hope that Africa has a bright future ahead, that if two men can hold a shared dream and build one of the largest banks in Africa, then we all can do it. We do not have to own a bank, but we can share its DNA and carry it with pride into new territories, leaving an impact. That is true Pan-Africanism.
Faith and Diligence
Iheanyi’s day does not end until all his files and emails are attended to. He is a man of faith and begins his day with prayer, scripture and singing hymns or worship songs, before praying with his wife.
About Neelkanth Sarovar Premiere
The hotel features a fully equipped fitness centre, a serene outdoor pool and an in-house spa to enrich your stay.
