Oliver Alawuba, Group Managing Director and CEO of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, urged a stronger emphasis on converting Africa’s extensive opportunities into viable investment projects.
He stressed that dependable revenues, credible institutions, and accountable delivery are essential to unlocking sustainable capital across the continent.
Alawuba delivered this message in New York at the Forward Africa Leaders Symposium, held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), where he took part in a fireside chat titled “From Mandate to Impact.”
Highlighting the need to turn Africa’s development ambitions into concrete results, the UBA chief said that Africa’s opportunities require rigorous preparation and substantial capital, and that projects must be commercially sustainable with institutions able to fulfill their commitments.
Citing UBA’s pan‑African experience, Alawuba underscored the bank’s role in linking African enterprises with capital, expertise, and financial infrastructure, pointing to initiatives in telecommunications, energy, roads, digital services, and other vital sectors.
As an example, he cited UBA’s financing of a US$6.56 million telecommunications modernisation project in Chad, launched in 2021, completed in 2025, and fully repaid. Alawuba noted that the initiative shows how a well‑defined development need can progress from financing through to completion and repayment when the right structure and accountability are in place.
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