First HoldCo Appoints Former Afreximbank Executive Gwen Mwaba as Non-Executive Director

First HoldCo Plc has appointed Gwen Mwaba as a Non-Executive Director following approval from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The appointment took impact on October 15, 2026, in response to a regulatory disclosure submitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on October 22.

Mwaba joins the board with practically 30 years of expertise in worldwide banking, improvement finance, credit score danger administration and structured commerce finance.

Before her appointment, she served as Managing Director of Trade Finance and Correspondent Banking on the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), the place she managed a $19.5 billion portfolio overlaying sovereign, monetary establishment and company exposures.

Her duties included overseeing commerce finance operations throughout Africa and the Caribbean, managing portfolio technique and monitoring credit score publicity throughout totally different sectors and international locations.

She additionally participated within the financial institution’s credit score committees, contributing to selections involving main lending transactions.

Before assuming that place, Mwaba served as Regional Head of Anglophone West Africa at Afreximbank, overseeing enterprise improvement and credit score origination throughout Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia and Cape Verde.

Her earlier profession included a senior place at Standard Bank Plc in London, the place she served as Executive Vice President of Structured Trade and Commodity Finance.

In that function, she managed financing preparations involving commodity transactions, export credit score services and pre-export financing throughout African markets.

She additionally held senior banking positions at Stanbic Bank Zambia and Standard Bank South Africa, together with duties for company banking and asset finance.

Beyond her government profession, Mwaba has participated in worldwide business initiatives addressing commerce finance and monetary sector improvement.

These embrace the International Trade and Forfaiting Association’s Multilateral Institutions Board Advisory Panel and a World Trade Organization-led knowledgeable group on commerce finance.

Mwaba holds a Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University and a Bachelor of Science in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University, each within the United Kingdom.

She can also be a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Her appointment brings further expertise in credit score danger oversight, capital allocation and worldwide monetary markets to First HoldCo’s board.

The firm, chaired by businessman Femi Otedola, is the holding firm of First Bank of Nigeria and different monetary providers companies.

In the disclosure signed by Group Company Secretary Abiola Baruwa, First HoldCo confirmed that the appointment had acquired the mandatory regulatory approval.

The appointment expands the board’s experience in banking technique, company governance and improvement finance because the group continues to supervise its monetary providers operations.