Alternative Bank canvasses stable policy for inclusive growth

By Idowu Isamotu The Alternative Bank (Alt Bank), on Thursday, canvassed predictable policy to accelerate and drive inclusive economic growth in the country. It specifically identified policy inconsistency as a persistent barrier that weakens investor confidence and can jeopardise transactions after capital has been mobilised. Mrs Korede Demola-Adeniyi, Executive Director, Commercial and Institutional Banking (Lagos […]

By Idowu Isamotu

The Alternative Bank (Alt Bank), on Thursday, canvassed predictable policy to accelerate and drive inclusive economic growth in the country.

It specifically identified policy inconsistency as a persistent barrier that weakens investor confidence and can jeopardise transactions after capital has been mobilised.

Mrs Korede Demola-Adeniyi, Executive Director, Commercial and Institutional Banking (Lagos and South West) at the Africa Social Impact Summit (ASIS) High-Level Policy Engagement in Abuja.

The summit, which was held at the State House, was hosted by the Office of the Vice President in partnership with Sterling One Foundation and United Nations Nigeria.

Daily Trust reports that the theme of the event was: “Scaling Action: Driving Inclusive Growth Through Policy and Innovation”.

Speaking at the event, he called for blended finance and mobilise more private capital into projects that drive the growth, while calling for stronger public-private collaboration.

She stated, “When a policy is introduced, stakeholders structure and fund projects around it, and then it changes midstream, the project is put at risk. That is how capital gets stranded on the table.

“If a project is viable, we evaluate how it makes money, how profit is shared, and what each party is responsible for. Our model is that of a partnership built to deliver results.

The senior banker urged policymakers to adopt a multi-year blended-finance framework that protects already-approved transactions from midstream policy changes through clear stabilisation provisions, noting that predictability is essential for long-term capital planning and credible execution.

“If the goal is a $1 trillion economy, then we need rules that investors can trust long enough to build,” Demola-Adeniyi urged

The banker further explained that blended finance can deliver commercially sound outcomes while advancing development priorities when transactions are properly structured and risks are transparently shared among government, Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), banks, and other stakeholders.

According to her, DFI-supported blended finance structures often deliver strong repayment performance relative to conventional lending when risks are shared transparently and execution is actively monitored.

“Blended finance works when the structure is clear and the risk-sharing is real. However, private capital will not be committed at scale when the rules can change halfway through execution.

“If we want investors to show up, policy has to be predictable,” the senior banked explained.

Demola-Adeniyi explained that Alternative Bank evaluates transactions as partnerships rather than conventional interest-based lending arrangements, assessing viability through profitability, agreed profit-sharing structures, and the contributions of each party to execution.

On his part, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, in his remarks also made the call to evolve development thinking beyond public spending to long-term investments in human capital, productive systems, climate resilience, digital infrastructure and inclusive markets.

Shettima, who was represented by Hauwa Liman, Technical Adviser on Women, Youth Engagement and Impact, said, “The future of this continent will not be financed by aid alone.

“It will be driven by patient capital, catalytic capital, blended finance and private enterprise deployed with discipline and guided by impact.”

Shettima reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to expanding opportunities for young people and women, warning that fragmentation among stakeholders could undermine progress.

“The stakes are too high for disunity. Development is not done to people; it is built with them. Progress demands coalition,” he said.

He urged African leaders and partners to close the gap between promise and performance, noting that history would judge leadership not by speeches delivered, but by systems built, institutions strengthened and futures secured.