With over ten million registered Retirement Savings Accounts as of Dec 2023, Nigerian workers' pension contributions have grown steadily, despite fluctuations in recent years, to reach ₦1.32t in 2023.
In 2023 alone, 13.3% of the total savings since inception was contributed.
Total contributions since 2004 reached ₦9.9 trillion by 2023, with 52% coming from the public sector. The public sector grows at an average annual rate of 15.8%, while the private sector averages 16.2% yearly growth.
When Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and Herbert Wigwe acquired Access Bank in 2002, it ranked 65th in Nigeria. Today, it is the largest bank in Nigeria by asset size, with a vision to be Africa's most respected bank.
While its expansion across Africa has been aggressive, it has not been smooth sailing. Access Bank divested its holdings in Access Bank Côte d'Ivoire and Finbank Burundi, two of its earliest attempts at expansion. In Gambia, the Central Bank nationalised the bank in 2014. The nationalisation was short-lived as investors recapitalised the bank to meet the regulator's requirements for the takeover. With rolling five-year corporate plans since 2003, Access is in its fifth strategic cycle. Access' strategy cycle (2023-2027) indicates a plan to continue its expansion drive, invest in its subsidiaries, and acquire growth banks in strategic markets before consolidating and optimising its operations to drive capital growth.