There are achievers, and there are exceptional achievers. Herbert Onyewumbu Wigwe is one of the exceptional achievers in his generation. He is in the league of men whose remarkable achievements have exposed them to fame and glamour. Herbert Wigwe is the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, under whose leadership the Bank soared into the limelight, with the many brilliant strides and policies executed since he took over at the helm.
One thing stands him out amidst the comity of CEOs, it is his passion for empowering women. He has granted them access to vast opportunities and information which has not only led to personal development for women, but also the development of the communities and societies they operate in.
Access Bank, which he superintends, has been committed to championing female empowerment, with a focus on information sharing, capacity building, and increased access to finance to grow and expand their businesses.
According to reports in a National tabloid, his brain-child, “the ‘W’ Initiative is a robust plan to provide women with banking solutions tailored to meet their diverse career and lifestyle requirements. It is a virtual community that aims to inspire and connect women to opportunities nationally and internationally, as well as give them a rewarding banking experience. In simpler terms, the ‘W’ Initiative is the home for everything Access Bank offers women and is open to all women irrespective of who they bank with”.
Born August 15, 1966 to parents of Ikwerre descent from Omueke Isiokpo, Wigwe has succeeded as a Nigerian banker and entrepreneur, against all shades of obstacles on his way. He has successfully placed Access Bank plc, on the top rung of the ladder in the financial sector of the Nation. The bank is one of Nigeria’s top five banking institutions. He succeeded his business partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede in January 2014.
Herbert attended Federal Government College (FGC) Sokoto before moving to FGC Warri, he graduated from FGC Warri in 1982 and is fondly remembered not only as a brilliant student but as an avid cricket player.
Herbert attended University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) in 1983 where he studied Accountancy, graduating with a Second Class Upper honours degree in 1987.
In 1988, Herbert completed the compulsory NYSC program, he would then land a job with Coopers and Lybrand Associates Limited in Lagos as a graduate assistant and was promoted within a year.
In 1989, Herbert passed his Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) professional examination and moved on to work as a credit analyst at Capital Merchant Bank.
A recipient of the British Council Scholarship in 1990, he studied at North Wales University (now Bangor University), where he earned his M.A in Banking and Finance in 1991. He returned to Lagos to join a fast growing new generation bank, Guaranty Trust Bank, gradually rising through the ranks to become an Executive Director at the age of 32.
Wigwe would go on to earn an MSc in Financial Economics from the University of London. He would also become an alumnus of Harvard Business School Executive Management Program.
Wigwe has proven himself as one of the best banking brains and business leaders on the shores of Nigeria and on the African continent. Herbert’s story is a remarkable one and his journey up until this point is enough blueprint for anyone looking to achieve success in their path.
Looking back into his antecedents as Finance consultant, Wigwe began his career at Coopers & Lybrand, Lagos as a management consultant, later qualifying as a chartered accountant. After a stint at Capital Bank, he joined GTBank where he spent over a decade working in corporate and institutional banking, rising to become the executive director in charge of institutional banking.
In 2002, Wigwe and his business partner, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, acquired Access Bank, after he had spent over a decade at Guaranty Trust Bank– at the time, the 65th largest of the 89 banks in the country.
Under their leadership, the bank has seen drastic improvements – from being ranked 65 out of the 89 commercial banks in the country at the time to being among the top 5 financial institutions in the country today.
Evident in his immense contribution to the African banking industry, is the unprecedented growth of Access Bank, which is ranked among the top 500 global banks according to a 2015 report by The Banker magazine. The Bank serves over 6.5 million account-holders, through 350 branches and with more than 1,500 ATMs in major centres across Nigeria, Sub-Saharan Africa and the UK.
As one of Nigeria’s foremost corporate bankers, he has helped develop some of Africa’s biggest companies in the construction, telecommunications, energy and oil and gas sectors through a unique model, which involves understanding and providing financial support and expertise. His career in financial services spans more than 25 years including over a decade as Deputy Managing Director.
Though born to a non-Yoruba parent, Wigwe passes as a Yoruba man, as his place of birth was Ibadan, the city with brown rusted roofs in 1966, Herbert Wigwe found his calling in finance at the age of 16.
Wigwe also served as the Chairman of Access Bank Ghana Limited, Access Investment & Securities Limited, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) and is the current Chairman of Access Bank (UK) Limited. He is a board member of Nigerian Mortgage Refinance Company and a member of the advisory Board for Friends Africa. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN – FCA), a Fellow of The Institute of Credit Administration, and an Honorary member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. Since January 2014, he has been CEO and Group Managing Director of Access Bank.
An exceptional and purposeful philanthropist, Wigwe founded The HOW Foundation, a non-profit organization in 2016.
Shall we also not turn blind eyes to the contribution of a coalition to the cushion the effect of the deadly coronavirus. The severity of the pandemic and its devastating effect on the limited resources available pushed the private sector in the West African nation to step up and help the government to fight the virus.
On March 26, the Coalition Against COVID-19, known as CACOVID, led by Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest man, is backed by Herbert Wigwe’s Access Bank Group and several others. The mission is to mobilize private sector leadership and resources to support health facilities to respond to the crisis but also to use their reach to increase awareness about the pandemic.
Also, under his leadership, Access Bank remains at the forefront of women empowerment by leveraging on the ‘W’ initiative as a channel.
The Bank pioneered women banking in Nigeria with the establishment of the Gender Empowerment Movement (GEM) in 2006 which later evolved into the ‘W’ Initiative, officially created in 2014. With such dedication to women empowerment, the Bank has over 35% of its customers as women. This is an offshoot of Wigwe’s philanthropic gesture, I must say.
Last month, Access Bank Nigeria Plc. announced N50 billion in support of Nigerians, through interest-free loans and grants to support communities, the youths, and micro, small and medium-sized businesses.
Through the Bank’s verified handles, it wrote, “Now more than ever, we remain committed to our purpose of impacting lives positively. In light of the recent occurrences, we will be supporting Nigerian businesses with 50 Billion Naira interest-free loans and grants. Watch this space for more information.”
With this huge gesture, the bank has taken a lead in designing an interest free loan and grant for small and medium sized enterprises, especially in the wake of occurrences that have hit most entrepreneurs below the belt this last month.
He has had speaking engagements across the world including most recently at Silicon Valley and Financial Times summit in Mozambique.
Olamide Adeniji is a member of the Editorial Board of TheScript Newspaper
