Yemisi Izuora
The Alternative Bank, on Thursday, convened investors, policymakers, and business leaders in Lagos, for an executive intelligence briefing titled ‘Beyond Interest’. The gathering aimed to advance the conversation around non-interest finance and the strategic deployment of patient capital into Nigeria’s productive economy.
The Chairman of The Alternative Bank, Muhtar Bakare, opened the forum by challenging attendees to rethink how capital is deployed across the nation.
He emphasised the necessity of aligning private returns with productive national capacity.
“Extractive capital treats the economy chiefly as a place from which value is harvested. It may reward its owner, but it rarely leaves the economy stronger. On the other hand, productive capital invests in enterprises, assets and systems that grow over time. It creates income for workers, demand for suppliers, revenue for governments and sustainable returns for investors. It becomes productive wealth because the value it creates does not stop at the company’s gate. It puts down roots and improves the ground in which it is planted,” Bakare said.
The Executive Governor of Lagos State, H.E. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, delivered a keynote address focusing on the government’s role as a catalyst for private capital. He detailed how public infrastructure investments, such as the Blue and Red Line rail systems, expand markets and transform economic opportunities by reducing logistics costs and increasing business viability.
“The future of finance will belong to capita that is more purposeful, innovative and closely connected to productive economic activity,” said Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by Abayomi Oluyomi, the Honourable Commissioner for Finance.
“The future of development finance will increasingly draw on instruments including green bonds, sukuk and other ethical and non-interest structures that connect capital to real assets, productive activity and measurable outcomes. The future of finance, in other words, is not only about the price of capital. It is increasingly about the quality of the economic activity that capital enables. [The] Government cannot eliminate every risk that investors face, but it can reduce risks arising from poor infrastructure, unclear regulation, weak coordination, unpredictable policy and institutional uncertainty. Investors do not invest in government promises. They invest in credible systems,” the Governor added.
Babatunde Raji Fashola, Former Governor of Lagos State and former Minister of Works and Housing, in his remarks, emphasised that investments tied to tangible, productive assets and community well-being generate far more lasting value than capital strictly pursuing immediate, short-term profits. He consequently called on financial decision-makers and institutions to carefully consider the broader, long-term social returns of their funding allocations.
The event also featured intelligence briefs from other financial and economic experts. Speakers included Abubakar Suleiman, Promoter of Non-Interest Banking in Nigeria and Board Member of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc; Dr. Stanley Jacob, Group Chief, Innovation and Technology at Meristem, and Ajibola Tobi-Osho, Executive Director of Tugrande Alliance Limited, who presented on the business case for ethical capital; the potential of pan-African payment systems & asset tokenisation, and the nation’s macroeconomic outlook, respectively.
‘Beyond Interest’ drew a room of senior investors, executives and public-sector leaders, including Olatunji Mayaki, Chairman, Sterling Bank; Hassan Yusuf, Managing Director, The Alternative Bank; Tonye Cole, Co-Founder and former Group Executive Director of Sahara Group; Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder and Managing Partner of Aruwa Capital Management; Aminu Tukur, Vice-Chairman, Noor Takaful; Korede Demola-Adeniyi, Executive Director, The Alternative Bank; Chief Idris Olorunnimbe, Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Communications Commission; Yemi Keri, President of the Africa Business Angel Network (ABAN); Sadiq Dantata, Chairman, Golden Alchemy; Garba Mohammed, Executive Director, The Alternative Bank; Dr. Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, OON, Founder and Managing Partner, Luwaji Nominees; Sulaiman Adedokun, Group Managing Director, Meristem Securities Limited; Jimi Ogbobine, Associate Director and Head of Consulting, Agusto Consulting, and more.
The discussions at the event underscore AltBank’s belief that navigating the complexities of the Nigerian economic landscape demands a robust architecture for protection. By integrating comprehensive, shared-risk solutions, the Bank provides the structural confidence required to ensure that today’s investments generate lasting, cross-generational value for both families and the wider economy.