Moji Hunponu-Wusu, president Woodhall Capital has called for a wholesale rethink of SME finance in Africa.
Hunponu-Wusu made this known during a high-level workshop on factoring at the Afreximbank Annual General Meeting, urging policymakers and financiers to mainstream the little-used receivables tool as a liquidity lifeline for small businesses.
Speaking to over 200 stakeholders from finance, policy, and export sectors in Abuja, Hunponu-Wusu framed factoring not as a niche product, but as a “liberation tool” that unlocks value from unpaid invoices, offering African businesses access to capital without debt or equity dilution.
“Too often, we treat unpaid invoices as dead weight, when in fact, they are trapped value,” she said. “We don’t need more theories—we need tools. And this is one of the most powerful we have.”
The session, titled Factor Forward: Advancing Factoring in Nigeria and Beyond, was hosted by Woodhall Capital in partnership with NEXIM Bank, Afreximbank, and SEWA Capital Limited.
It featured technical panel discussions, breakout clinics, and a live “Factoring Readiness Clinic” where SMEs submitted real invoices for eligibility screening.
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Factoring — selling invoices at a discount for upfront cash — is increasingly being viewed as a viable alternative to traditional lending, particularly for African SMEs locked out of formal credit markets. But adoption remains uneven, hindered by legal uncertainties and limited awareness.
Afreximbank spotlighted its Model Law on Factoring, urging countries like Nigeria to adopt the framework to harmonize regulation and create legal certainty.
NEXIM Bank’s CEO, Abba Bello, emphasised the tool’s relevance for non-oil exporters grappling with payment delays, and pledged support for pilot programs in sectors like agro-processing and manufacturing.
SEWA Capital’s Angela Jide-Jones framed factoring as a critical pathway for women- and youth-led enterprises that have contracts but lack collateral. “This workshop is exactly what Africa needs, vision backed by execution,” she said.
Hunponu-Wusu closed the event by announcing a new Factoring Enablement Program, designed to guide SMEs through contract audits, digital onboarding, and access to factoring service providers.
A communique from the event called for adoption of the Model Law, creation of a national receivables registry, and tax incentives for early adopters.
“This isn’t about jargon,” Hunponu-Wusu said. “It’s about rewriting how we think about capital.”
