The Executive Director, Commercial and Institutional Banking for Lagos and the South-West at The Alternative Bank, Korede Demola-Adeniyi, has called for stronger public-private collaboration and predictable policies to accelerate blended finance and mobilise private capital for inclusive growth.
According to a press statement on Thursday, Demola-Adeniyi made the call at the Africa Social Impact Summit High-Level Policy Engagement held at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
The session was hosted by the Office of the Vice President in partnership with Sterling One Foundation and the United Nations Nigeria, under the theme Scaling Action Driving Inclusive Growth Through Policy and Innovation.
She said blended finance could deliver commercially sound outcomes while advancing development priorities when transactions are properly structured, and risks are transparently shared among government, development finance institutions, banks, and other stakeholders.
According to her, DFI-supported blended finance structures often record stronger repayment performance than conventional lending when risks are clearly allocated and execution is actively monitored.
“Blended finance works when the structure is clear, and the risk-sharing is real,” she said. “However, private capital will not be committed at scale when the rules can change halfway through execution. If we want investors to show up, policy has to be predictable.”
Demola-Adeniyi explained that the bank approaches transactions as partnerships rather than conventional interest-based lending, assessing viability through profitability, agreed profit-sharing structures, and the responsibilities of each party.
“If a project is viable, we evaluate how it makes money, how profit is shared, and what each party is responsible for,” she said. “Our model is that of a partnership built to deliver results.”
She cited the bank’s impact collaborations as proof that blended finance can move from policy conversations to measurable outcomes when execution is properly supported.
In Kano, she said the bank delivered an electric mobility initiative through the UK government’s FCDO-funded LINKS programme, while also working with women’s cooperatives and transport stakeholders to train about 100 women, certify 30 mechanics, and support operations with tools, a service centre arrangement, and battery recharging infrastructure.
She said the project showed how coordinated capital and implementation could expand economic participation. Demola-Adeniyi identified policy inconsistency as a major barrier that weakens investor confidence and can threaten transactions after capital has been mobilised.
“When a policy is introduced, stakeholders structure and fund projects around it, and then it changes midstream, the project is put at risk,” she said. “That is how capital gets stranded on the table.”
She urged policymakers to adopt a multi-year blended finance framework that protects already approved transactions from midstream policy changes through clear stabilisation provisions, noting that predictability is critical for long-term capital planning. “If the goal is a $1tn economy, then we need rules that investors can trust long enough to build,” she said.
The Vice President, Kashim Shettima, also called for a shift in development thinking beyond public spending to long-term investments in human capital, productive systems, climate resilience, digital infrastructure, and inclusive markets. He was represented by Hauwa Liman, Technical Adviser on Women, Youth Engagement and Impact.
“The future of this continent will not be financed by aid alone. It will be driven by patient capital, catalytic capital, blended finance, and private enterprise deployed with discipline and guided by impact,” Shettima said.
He reaffirmed the administration’s commitment to expanding opportunities for young people and women, warning that fragmentation among stakeholders could undermine progress. “The stakes are too high for disunity. Development is not done to people; it is built with them. Progress demands coalition,” he said.
Shettima urged African leaders and partners to close the gap between promise and performance, noting that leadership would ultimately be judged by systems built, institutions strengthened, and futures secured.
