Dapo Salmon
Nigeria’s first state visit to the United Kingdom in 37 years was a parade of restored prestige as King Charles III received President Bola Ahmed Tinubu with the full ceremonial weight of the British monarchy. The optics were unmistakable that Africa’s most populous nation was back in the spotlight.
But a few miles from the halls of Windsor, another version of Nigeria that included top banking echelon, executives, private sector leaders, and policy makers, was making its case, working in a different space to achieve a similar goal.
Over five intense days in March, UBA’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, traversed London, from boardrooms to the House of Lords, from diaspora roundtables to the Africa Capital Forum, executing what is expected to be one of the most ambitious international capital pushes by a Nigerian bank in years, as he stated, “The opportunity is no more in dialogue alone, but in stronger pathways that connect capital to credible, bankable projects.”
At the Africa Capital Forum…
The Africa Capital Forum, held on the margins of the state visit, offered Alawuba, who is also Chairman of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s Body of Banks’ CEOs, a direct platform to make the argument that the recapitalisation of Nigeria’s banking sector is an important and paramount step for Nigeria’s drive to build $1 trillion economy.
Speaking alongside fellow banking leaders, Alawuba argued that a better-capitalised Nigerian banking system creates a stronger framework for the continent and for international capital seeking reliable institutional counterparts in Africa.
Today, with UBA operating across 20 markets on the continent and maintaining key footprint in London, Paris, and New York, Alawuba’s argument carries a lot of weight.
“The business that we have has over 65 percent of the revenue coming from outside of Nigeria. That means that we can do more in Africa. Today, Nigerian banks are not only present in the UK but are actively shaping global financial conversations, sitting at the table, influencing outcomes,” Alawuba said.
The forum’s discussion is one Alawuba knows intimately, as UBA has long positioned itself as the connective wire between African opportunity and global capital, a claim that, after the eventful week in London, came with some fresh evidence as the bank signed a strategic partnership with British International Investment (BII), the UK government’s development finance institution
Closing the Gap: UBA’s Partnership with BII
UBA and BII agreed to collaborate on expanding access to trade finance across Africa, a continent where the financing gap for trade is estimated at $80 billion annually, with small and medium-sized businesses bearing the heaviest burden.
The agreement, announced in London on March 16, is designed to expand access to trade and working capital facilities, particularly for SMEs that continue to face significant barriers in securing financing for cross-border trade.
For UBA UK, which serves as the group’s hub for cross-border trade operations, it reinforces the bank’s positioning as a critical bridge between African businesses and international capital markets.
For BII, which has been deepening its Africa portfolio in recent years, the partnership adds institutional credibility and continental reach.
UBA, with its vast presence in markets from Senegal to Kenya to Mozambique, offers an edge that only a few other financial institutions can, which is on-the-ground infrastructure.
The Diaspora Play
Trade finance was only one thread in Alawuba’s London week. A second, arguably more personal one, was the bank’s engagement with the African diaspora, a community that UBA has been quietly repositioning from remittance source to strategic economic partner.
At UBA’s UK office, Alawuba hosted representatives from the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), led by its Chairman and CEO, Dr Abike Dabiri-Erewa. The meeting, which also brought together diaspora youth, entrepreneurs, and business leaders, was framed around a simple proposition that the home market is open for business, and the bank is ready to serve as the conduit.
“With UBA, you have a financial partner that is with you, that understands what you are going through, and that can support you to make sure you realise your aspirations, both here and in the country.”
“You are not limited here; you have opportunities on the continent, and we want you to make good use of them. That is where banking, and we at UBA, become the connecting point that you need to access the opportunities back home. “Whether you like it or not, the returns are high in Africa, and we are here to help you navigate that space,” Alawuba concluded
Indeed, this is a message UBA has been promoting for years, and more particularly in the past few weeks, the strategic visit comes on the heels of the bank’s recently launched Diaspora Banking platform, which is designed to provide a seamless, integrated platform for Africans in the diaspora to bank, invest, and manage their financial obligations back home, thus connecting global Africans with investment and wealth opportunities.
The platform is a one-stop shop for banking, pensions, insurance, investments, property buying, and more, with leading ecosystem partners representing a major step toward redefining diaspora banking beyond remittances toward structured wealth creation and long-term investment.
House of Lords Impact…
The week’s most politically charged engagement came at the House of Lords, where Alawuba joined the UK-Nigeria Project Agglomeration Compact, a convening designed to turn diplomatic goodwill into investable transaction pipelines.
The compact brought together sovereign leaders, institutional investors, and key stakeholders with a singular objective of translating Nigeria’s fiscal reforms and emerging infrastructure project pipelines into bankable opportunities capable of attracting serious international capital.
What distinguished Alawuba’s participation from typical banker diplomacy was his dual role as both a facilitator and a prospective partner, capable of underwriting and structuring the very deals being discussed across the table.
Capital Connectivity – What It Means…
The Nigeria-UK Roundtable, which opened Alawuba’s London engagement, set the tone for everything else that followed. “The real measure of progress will be in transactions completed, capital mobilised, and partnerships that deliver tangible economic impact,” was how UBA framed its takeaway from the roundtable.
UBA has been building toward this kind of moment for two decades. Its first expansion beyond Nigeria into Ghana, about 22 years ago, was the opening move in a continental strategy that now spans 20 markets. The London office, the trade finance infrastructure, the correspondent banking network, all of it has been constructed in anticipation of a day when the conditions for deepening Africa’s access to global capital would finally align.
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