First HoldCo Plc has appointed Gwen Mwaba, a former senior executive at the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), as a non-executive director, bringing nearly three decades of international banking, trade finance and credit risk experience to the financial services group.
The appointment took effect on October 15, 2026, following approval by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to a regulatory notice dated October 22, 2026, filed with the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
In the notice signed by Group Company Secretary Abiola Baruwa, First HoldCo said Mwaba’s appointment was made in accordance with the NGX Rulebook. The company highlighted her experience in corporate governance, credit risk management, portfolio oversight, capital deployment, development finance and emerging-market risk.
The appointment was reported by BusinessDay on October 22, 2026, and Nairametrics on October 23, 2026, both citing the company’s regulatory disclosure.
Mwaba most recently served as Managing Director of Trade Finance and Correspondent Banking at Afreximbank in Cairo, Egypt. According to First HoldCo’s October 22 filing, she had executive responsibility for trade finance and structured credit activities across Africa and the Caribbean, overseeing a portfolio of $19.5 billion in sovereign, financial institution and corporate exposures.
The filing also stated that she contributed to Afreximbank’s Pre-Credit and Credit Committees, assessing major lending transactions and overseeing portfolio strategy, sector exposures and country-risk limits.
Before that role, Mwaba served as Regional Head for Anglophone West Africa at Afreximbank, covering Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, The Gambia and Cape Verde.
Her previous experience includes serving as Executive Vice President of Structured Trade and Commodity Finance at Standard Bank Plc in London, where she handled commodity financing, export-credit-agency-backed facilities and pre-export financing transactions across Africa.
She also held senior positions at Stanbic Bank Zambia and Standard Bank South Africa, including Head of Vehicle and Asset Finance and Head of Corporate Banking.
First HoldCo’s regulatory filing lists her academic qualifications as a Master of Business Administration from Heriot-Watt University in the United Kingdom and a Bachelor of Science degree with honours in Applied Accounting from Oxford Brookes University. She is a Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and holds a professional qualification from the Chartered Institute of Transport.
Her industry affiliations have included the editorial board of Trade Treasury & Payments, the Multilateral Institutions Board Advisory Panel of the International Trade & Forfaiting Association and the World Trade Organization-led Expert Group on Trade Finance.
The board appointment follows an improvement in First HoldCo’s financial performance in the first half of 2026.
In its half-year results published on July 20, 2026, First HoldCo reported gross earnings of ₦1.93 trillion for the six months ended June 30, 2026, representing a 16.7% increase from the corresponding period of 2025.
The group’s operating income rose by 25.8% to ₦1.38 trillion, while profit before tax increased by 83.5% to ₦653.5 billion from ₦356.1 billion a year earlier, according to the published results.
The results also showed that profit after tax climbed by 81.6% to ₦526.1 billion from ₦289.8 billion in the first half of 2025.
Mwaba’s appointment adds senior international banking and trade finance experience to First HoldCo’s board as the group continues its balance-sheet transformation and focuses on risk management, governance and earnings growth.
