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Mrs. Moji Hunponu-Wusu, President of Woodhall Capital, led a groundbreaking workshop on factoring finance at the 2025 Afreximbank Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Abuja. The workshop, themed “Factor Forward: Advancing Factoring in Nigeria and Beyond, ” positioned her not only as a bold voice in African finance but also as a catalyst for unlocking the continent’s next wave of SME-driven growth.
Hosted by WoodhallCapital, in strategic partnership with NEXIM Bank, Afreximbank, and SEWA Capital Limited, the high-level workshop gathered over 200 stakeholders from the financial, policy, export, fintech, and legal sectors. But it was Hunponu-Wusu’s deep insights and unwavering conviction that set the tone, reframing factoring from a niche product to a mission-critical financial tool for Africa’s development.
In her opening remarks, Hunponu-Wusu challenged long-held assumptions about liquidity in the African business landscape. “Too often, we treat unpaid invoices as dead weight, when in fact, they are trapped value,” she said.
“Factoring isn’t just a financing option—it is a liberation tool. It enables businesses to convert performance into power. We don’t need more theories; we need tools. And this is one of the most powerful we have.”
With clarity and conviction, Hunponu-Wusu called for a transformation in how Africa’s SMEs access working capital and urged policymakers, financial institutions, and innovators to make factoring as mainstream as loans or equity. She emphasised the unique strength of factoring: it allows businesses to unlock capital without debt or dilution, a lifeline especially vital for asset-light, high-performance enterprises.
The workshop featured two technically rich panel discussions and dynamic breakout sessions. The first explored the regional factoring landscape, dissecting regulatory inconsistencies, credit risk, and barriers to adoption. The second panel turned practical—guiding businesses on how to structure, document, and implement factoring strategies. These sessions were infused with Hunponu-Wusu’s forward-thinking approach: action-oriented, policy-aware, and rooted in inclusion. Strategic partners enriched the conversation with their institutional perspectives.
Afreximbank, a long-time champion of factoring innovation, spotlighted its Model Law on Factoring—a framework designed to harmonise receivables finance legislation across African countries. The bank called on Nigeria and other member states to adopt the model, thereby creating the legal clarity needed to scale factoring continent-wide.
NEXIM Bank, represented by its Managing Director Mr. Abba Bello, underscored factoring’s relevance for non-oil exporters struggling with payment delays. He affirmed the bank’s readiness to co-develop demonstration projects that apply factoring to real trade challenges, especially in agro-processing and manufacturing.
SEWA Capital Limited, led by Mrs. Angela Jide-Jones, brought a social finance lens to the discussion. Praising Hunponu-Wusu’s leadership, she said, “This workshop is exactly what Africa needs—vision backed by execution. Factoring is especially empowering for women-led and youth-led enterprises that have contracts but lack collateral. Moji is helping us finance performance, not just property.”
One of the event’s most impactful features was the Factoring Readiness Clinic, a hands-on diagnostic session where SMEs submitted real invoices for immediate eligibility evaluation. Many businesses discovered that, with a few structural adjustments, they could access working capital through factoring without ever approaching a bank for a loan.
In a bold next step, Hunponu-Wusu announced the Factoring Enablement Program—a flagship initiative of Woodhall Capital that will guide SMEs through the full factoring lifecycle.
From contract audits to service provider matchmaking and digital integration, the program is designed to turn workshop learnings into real financing outcomes. SEWA Capital and NEXIM Bank will co-anchor the program with technical and policy support.
The workshop concluded with a communique calling for the swift adoption of the Afreximbank Model Law in Nigeria, the establishment of a national receivables registry, and tax incentives for early adopters of factoring. The document reflects Hunponu-Wusu’s belief that systemic change requires not just dialogue, but direction.
For her, factoring is more than a product—it’s a paradigm shift. “This is not about introducing new jargon,” she said.
“This is about rewriting how we think about capital. African SMEs are rich in performance. We need to start financing them accordingly.”
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