Access Holdings expands finance to 2.528M Africans, 78k MSMEs via tech

Access Holdings reports that in 2025 it extended access to finance to 2.528 million low‑income Africans and onboarded 78,438 micro, small and medium enterprises onto its financing platforms. The group uses a holding‑company structure: Access Bank holds deposits and facilitates trade; Oxygen X Finance provides instant, app‑based consumer credit without needing a branch; Hydrogen Payment Services offers low‑cost rails that make micro‑transactions viable; and Access ARM Pensions opens long‑term retirement savings for informal‑economy workers. Each subsidiary lowers the cost of serving customers the traditional brick‑and‑mortar model left out, and together they create a feedback loop where payment data supports future lending and pension contributions.

The impact is felt most in communities where banks once found service uneconomical—market women can now build savings records, young mechanics can obtain collateral‑free loans, and farmers can receive harvest payments securely instead of carrying cash on unsafe roads. By bringing millions into the formal system, Access argues that inclusion is economics: savers save more, invest more, and become more resilient; MSMEs with credit hire more workers and buy from local suppliers, expanding the tax base and stabilizing economies across the continent.

With digital infrastructure replacing real‑ estate as the driver of reach, how might you use these emerging tools to improve your own financial security or business growth?

SOURCE: https://nairametrics.com/2026/09/29/bringing-millions-more-africans-into-the-economy/