Our customers are our partners, says Altbank 

…as it clears myths around non-interest banking

By Emeka Anaeto

In this interview Mrs. Korede Demola-Adeniyi, Executive Director (Commercial & Institutional Banking, Lagos/ South West), at The Alternative Bank, gives insight into non-interest banking subsector, The Alternative Bank’s vision and the milestones it recorded so far.

Excerpts

You joined The Alternative Bank as Executive Director (South) after over 30 years in conventional banking. What drew you to this young bank, and how has your prior experience shaped your leadership here?

After decades in conventional banking, I was excited by the challenge of contributing to something different. I had led personal banking teams across Africa, so I saw firsthand how banking needed to evolve to truly serve people. The Alternative Bank’s vision of non-interest banking focused on inclusion, resonated deeply with me. It was a chance to apply my experience to a fresh canvas. I often say I joined because “traditional is boring” and AltBank promised to break the mold. My background in consumer banking has been invaluable here: I understand what everyday customers want – convenience, trust, respect – and I’m applying that to ensure our offerings are best-in-class. Whether it’s tailoring products for government parastatals or supporting the nation’s trade ecosystem, I draw on my experience to anticipate customer needs. Also, having operated across various markets, I bring a unique perspective and urgency to execution. We don’t have the luxury of time as a new player, so we operate with agility and a can-do spirit. Our internal mantra is ‘we dare, we deliver,’ and it has been rewarding to see that happen.

Non-interest banking is still a relatively new concept for many Nigerians, and it’s often surrounded by misconceptions. What are the most common myths you encounter, and how do you address them?

This is a conversation I find myself having almost daily, and frankly, I welcome it because clearing up misconceptions is part of how we grow this market. The biggest myth, by far, is that non-interest banking is exclusively for Muslims or that it is a religious banking system. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Non-interest banking is an ethical model anchored on principles like fairness, transparency, risk-sharing, and asset-backed financing, all values that resonate across faiths and cultures. A significant portion of our customer base and corporate partners are not Muslim; they simply want a banking relationship that aligns with their values, or one that offers a genuinely different proposition from conventional finance. We say it often: AltBank is for everyone.

The second myth I hear, particularly from sophisticated clients, is that “non-interest banking is just interest with a different label.” That misconstrues how the model actually works. In conventional banking, the bank lends money and charges interest regardless of how the underlying business performs. With us, every financing arrangement is tied to a real asset or transaction, whether that’s a Murabaha (cost-plus sale) trade finance structure, an Ijarah (lease) arrangement, or a Musharakah (joint partnership). We share commercial risk and reward with the customer. That fundamentally changes the relationship, which is why we refer to our customers as partners, not borrowers.

A third myth, especially in the corporate and institutional space, is that non-interest banks cannot handle scale or sophistication. My experience since joining this space has been the exact opposite. We are actively financing large trade transactions, supporting infrastructure projects, working with state governments and parastatals, and structuring facilities for blue-chip corporates. The Central Bank granting us a full banking license and our meeting the national bank capital threshold are objective signals that we operate to the same regulatory standards as any other commercial bank in Nigeria.

The last one I’ll mention is the assumption that returns are somehow lower on the savings and investment side. Our profit rates on instruments like AltInvest have been very competitive, and because returns are tied to real economic activity, customers actually appreciate the transparency around how those returns are generated. In my experience, once people engage with the model, the myths tend to dissolve on their own. Our job is to keep the door open and let the offering speak for itself.

The Alternative Bank has hit notable milestones in what is now almost three years, including rapid customer growth and meeting regulatory benchmarks. From your perspective, what have been the key achievements and how do they impact customers?

The milestones are indeed impressive for a young bank, albeit, one that was first operating as a banking window for over a decade. Hitting close to one million customers so quickly is a standout achievement. It tells me we’re offering something people were waiting for. We have expanded physical presence too. We now operate out of a network of nearly 200 locations, comprising branches and  AltBoxes, which are service outlets stationed at strategic high traffic areas to support business activities. We also have a growing network of agents, which means even customers in semi-urban and rural areas can access our services. 

Some of our big milestones was first, the Central Bank granting us a full banking license and our ability to subsequently meet the minimum capital requirement for a national non-interest bank early on in 2025. These translate to trust and stability for our customers. We have effectively said, ‘We’re here to stay, and we have the backing to grow with you.’  From a product standpoint, we have rolled out a suite of offerings tailored to the needs of businesses and institutional clients: for example, trade finance solutions to support importers and exporters, working capital and contract financing for SMEs, and structured ethical investment options through AltInvest for corporate treasuries. In thetwo years we have also scaled asset-backed offerings such as AltDrive for vehicle and fleet financing, AltPower for businesses seeking affordable renewable energy solutions, and lease finance for equipment and machinery acquisition, all of which our commercial customers have embraced. Let us not also forget our customer service focus. AltBank has built a culture around empathy and quick execution, which I believe is why we see high satisfaction scores. Each achievement, whether financial or operational, ultimately means our customers get more reliable, accessible, and rewarding banking services. That is, the impact that matters to me.

Financial inclusion and empowerment are key themes for AltBank. You recently led an initiative to support market women and smallholder farmers through a partnership with their association. How is the Bank empowering women and youth (and other underserved groups) in practical terms?

This is something I’m very passionate about. In Nigeria, women, young people, and informal workers often face extra hurdles in accessing finance. We want to tear down those barriers. The partnership you referenced is a great example. We’re bringing formal banking to over 16 million market traders and farmers, many of whom are women running small businesses. Practically, we set up accounts so they can save securely and grow their businesses. We provide micro-loans to banking. For the youth, we have programs like AltInstitute (a platform to learn about and get certified on non-interest banking) and we actively support tech start-ups through our investment platform. Another one of our flagship youth programs is the boost their inventories during peak seasons, and we do not require the cumbersome upfront collateral that kept them out of conventional banks. 

Equally important, we have integrated financial literacy training where we literally go to the markets and villages to teach bookkeeping, budgeting, and using AltFellowship, where we enlist young influencers and community leaders to promote financial inclusion in their networks, essentially turning them into ambassadors who earn while they bring banking to their peers. Beyond products, representation matters. 

Last year, we launched The Alternative Bank-Utiva Women in Tech Scholarship, a landmark initiative designed to empower women entrepreneurs with digital skills, innovation design, and business growth training. The scholarship programme forms part of the Bank’s wider Corporate Social Investment commitment to bridge gender and digital divides, equipping women with tools to scale their enterprises and strengthen their participation in the emerging digital economy.

As a woman in leadership, I mentor younger women in the Bank and externally, showing that banking can be inclusive at all levels. The results of these are being seen. Thousands of previously unbanked women now use our accounts to safely keep their daily earnings, youths are using our mobile app and AltInvest platform to save and invest small amounts, and farmers are getting timely financing for inputs without the burden of interest. It is about empowerment, giving people control over their finances and, ultimately, their futures.

Digital banking appears to be a cornerstone of AltBank’s strategy. How are you driving digital adoption among your customers, and what benefits does that bring?

Digital infrastructure is absolutely central to what we do. We often say ‘the only way to serve effectively and efficiently is digital.’ Nigeria has a young, tech-savvy population, but we also recognise that segments of the market are less familiar with tech. To cater to all sects, we take a two-pronged approach. First, we have built user-friendly mobile banking channels. Our mobile banking app and USSD service (*5050#) are simple and available 24/7. This helps people with basic feature phones comfortably bank digitally with us. Second, we actively promote adoption through education and incentives. For instance, during our campus drives and market storms, we don’t just sign people up; we show them how to check balances, transfer money, or apply for a micro-loan right from their phone. We also ran a cashless Lagos campaign, aligning with government efforts, where customers earned rewards for using our AltPay system instead of cash. The benefits are huge: customers enjoy convenience, no need to travel to a branch and queue.

Sustainability and community impact are part of The Alternative Bank’s ethos. Can you share any initiatives that highlight this commitment?

Absolutely! We believe in being a bank that our communities feel is theirs, working together for a better environment and society. One initiative that stands out is the Walk4ZeroPlastic event we held in Lagos. We organised a 300-person strong walk to clean up plastic waste in a major market, in partnership with the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Sterling ONE Foundation, Wastebanc, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA), Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Rite Foods, Africa Clean-up Initiative, and Foodbank. The turnout was positive, with market traders, students, and government officials all marching with our team to rid our environment of plastic waste. The Lagos State government publicly lauded the Bank for showing leadership on this issue, which was a proud moment for us. It is not just a one-off; the awareness we raised is leading to behaviour change, like traders in that market now separating and recycling plastic through our partner company, WasteBanc, which is a platform we support that converts the submission of recyclable waste into cash rewards. We also have a food bank program that we run periodically in select cities to support vulnerable communities with essential food items. On the environmental front beyond plastics, we finance a lot of solar energy projects. For example, we have financed solar panels for rural health clinics in Ogun and Osun states through our AltPower loans, which improves healthcare delivery sustainably. Internally, we maintain green practices. Our Lagos head office has significantly cut single-use plastics and paper usage in daily operations. The broader idea is that as a non-interest bank, our responsibility doesn’t end with providing financial services; we want to lead positive change. Whether it’s cleaning a beach, sponsoring a local tech hub, or empowering women with digital skills, we try to embed sustainability and community impact in everything we do. This commitment has not only improved lives but also built enormous goodwill. People see us as a partner in progress, not just a bank, and we will continue to serve our customers diligently for many more years.

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