The Alternative Bank (AltBank) recently hosted investors, entrepreneurs, wealth creators, and institutional decision-makers at a private intelligence forum in Victoria Island, Lagos. Themed "Beyond Interest: Capital, Innovation, and the Future of Wealth," the forum advocated for non-interest finance to mobilise patient capital into Nigeria’s productive economy.
The event was supported by AltDrive and Noor Takaful, Nigeria’s first full-fledged composite takaful operator. It featured briefings from public-sector leaders, capital-market operators, and non-interest finance advocates focused on ethical capital allocation.
The Growth of Ethical Capital
Abubakar Suleiman, Promoter of Non-Interest Banking in Nigeria and Board Member of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, traced AltBank’s journey from its origins. The institution started as a modest non-interest window opened by Sterling Bank in 2014.
Today, AltBank holds total assets approaching ₦500 billion and serves nearly one million customers. Suleiman made the case for a "full ledger" approach to investment, which measures an allocation’s impact on customers, employees, communities, public infrastructure, and the environment alongside financial returns.
He pointed to WasteBanc, AltBank’s recycling initiative with the Lagos Waste Management Authority, and Nigeria’s sovereign Sukuk programme as evidence that values-aligned finance can meet commercial standards while connecting capital to productive assets.
Lagos State as a Private Capital Catalyst
The Executive Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, delivered a keynote address that positioned the government as an enabler of private investment. Represented by the Commissioner for Finance, Abayomi Oluyomi, the Governor cited the state's infrastructure programme, recent dual bond issuance, and the Lekki corridor as key initiatives changing the risk-return calculus for private investors.
Former Governor of Lagos State and former Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Raji Fashola, shared his experience on the value of non-interest financing. He argued that capital anchored to real, productive assets delivers more durable value than money chased for short-term yield.
Muhtar Bakare, Chairman of The Alternative Bank, opened the forum by addressing the trust deficit in capital mobilization. He argued that Nigeria lacks capital that stays long enough to turn effort into capacity, durable jobs, and economic stability.
Addressing the Capital Allocation Constraint
Dr. Stanley Jacob, Group Chief of Innovation and Technology at Meristem, and Ajibola Tobi-Osho, Executive Director of Tugrande Alliance Limited, called for a shift in diagnosing Africa’s financial challenges. Jacob argued that the core challenge is infrastructural rather than liquidity-based, noting that the convergence of the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) with the tokenisation of real-world assets could give Nigeria a first-mover advantage.
Tobi-Osho added that while Nigeria has moved toward macroeconomic stability, the binding constraint has shifted from inflation to capital allocation. He noted that banks are parking record liquidity at the central bank rather than lending to businesses that drive employment.
The forum drew a distinguished audience, including Olatunji Mayaki, Chairman of Sterling Bank; Hassan Yusuf, Managing Director of AltBank; Adesuwa Okunbo Rhodes, Founder of Aruwa Capital Management; Tonye Cole, Co-Founder of Sahara Group; and Aminu Tukur, Vice-Chairman of Noor Takaful. Other notable attendees included Korede Demola-Adeniyi, Chief Idris Olorunnimbe, Yemi Keri, Sadiq Dantata, Garba Mohammed, Dr. Adesegun Akin-Olugbade, Sulaiman Adedokun, and Jimi Ogbobine.
