FirstHoldCo Plc has appointed Gwen Mwaba, former senior executive at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), as a non-executive director, bringing
FirstHoldCo Plc has appointed Gwen Mwaba, former senior executive at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), as a non-executive director, bringing nearly three decades of global banking and development finance experience to the board of the Nigerian financial services group.
The appointment, which took effect on October 15, 2026, follows approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to a notice filed with the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
Until recently, she served as managing director of trade finance and correspondent banking at Afreximbank in Cairo, Egypt, where she oversaw a $19.5 billion portfolio of sovereign, financial institution, and corporate exposures.
In that role, she provided senior-level credit oversight through the bank’s pre-credit and credit committees while overseeing portfolio strategy, sector exposures, and country risk limits.
Her experience in managing large, diversified credit portfolios could strengthen FirstHoldCo’s board-level oversight of risk management, lending strategy, and capital deployment across its financial services operations.
Before her most recent position, Mwaba served as regional head for Anglophone West Africa at Afreximbank, overseeing strategy and credit origination across Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia, and Cape Verde.
She previously worked as executive vice president of structured trade and commodity finance at Standard Bank Plc in London, where she handled complex commodity financing, export-credit-agency-backed facilities and pre-export financing transactions across Africa.
Her earlier career included senior positions at Stanbic Bank Zambia and Standard Bank South Africa, including head of vehicle and asset finance and head of corporate banking.
Beyond her executive banking career, she has served on the editorial board of Trade Treasury & Payments and, until recently, was a member of the Multilateral Institutions Board Advisory Panel of the International Trade & Forfaiting Association and the World Trade Organization-led Expert Group on Trade Finance.
She holds a Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Science degree in applied accounting from Oxford Brookes University. She is also a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and holds a professional qualification from the Chartered Institute of Transport.
Chinwe Michael is a Nigerian business journalist and media professional with over 4 years of experience covering companies, financial markets, banking, fintech, economic policy, financial inclusion, and corporate affairs. She currently leads the Companies & Markets desk at BusinessDay, where she drives coverage of Nigeria’s corporate and capital markets, translates complex financial data into accessible stories, and mentors younger journalists. Prior to that, she was the head of the financial inclusion/fintech desk. With a background in banking and finance and extensive experience in media and communications, Michael has developed expertise in financial journalism, economic analysis, investigative reporting and market intelligence. Her work examines how monetary policy, corporate performance, capital flows, technology, and regulatory decisions affect businesses, investors, and households. She was selected from about 3,000 applicants as one of 20 journalists for Cohort 4 of the MTN Media Innovation Programme, gaining exposure to new approaches to journalism, technology, and media innovation. Her international journalism experience and engagement with professionals across Russia, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, and others in different sectors have further broadened her understanding of global communication and development.