Hot SourceAs the world commemorates World Food Day 2025, Sterling Bank Ltd, one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions driving sustainable growth in the real economy, has reaffirmed its commitment to building a resilient, inclusive and food-secure Africa.
This year’s World Food Day, themed ‘Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future,’ highlights the need for collective effort to ensure access to safe, nutritious and affordable food for all, while promoting sustainable livelihoods and protecting the planet.
For Sterling Bank, the theme underscores a truth that has guided its work in agriculture: Africa’s food destiny depends on shared responsibility between farmers, financiers, policymakers and communities.
Speaking on the occasion, the Group Head, Agriculture at Sterling Bank, Olushola Obikanye, emphasized the urgency of partnership-driven solutions to transform Africa’s food systems.
“The 2025 World Food Day theme captures exactly what Africa needs right now: collaboration. No single institution or government can fix food insecurity alone. We must work hand in hand with financial institutions, technology providers, farmers, development partners and other key stakeholders to create a future where hunger is history.
“At Sterling Bank, we’ve seen what’s possible when partnerships align with purpose. Our commitment goes beyond financing as we are helping to build an ecosystem where farmers have access to credit, markets and the knowledge they need to thrive. That is how we can produce better food, improve nutrition, and secure a better future for generations to come.
“Food security must move from being a national aspiration to a continental priority. We are sitting on 60% of the world’s uncultivated arable land, yet Africa still imports billions of dollars’ worth of food annually. This paradox can only change through action, investment, innovation and inclusion,” Obikanye said.
Over the past decade, Sterling Bank has emerged as one of Nigeria’s foremost financiers of agricultural development, channeling funding and expertise into projects that strengthen food systems, enhance productivity and empower communities.
The bank has disbursed over N500 billion in loans to commercial farmers and more than $300 million to support agricultural value chain actors across the country.
In 2022, it launched SWAY AgFin, a digital platform that has since enabled over 25,500 youth and women farmers to access financing and market opportunities.
Through partnerships with GIZ and USAID, Sterling Bank has implemented capacity-building programmes that have reached over 10,000 agribusinesses, enhancing competitiveness and sustainability, while also supporting over 100,000 rice, maize and soybean farmers under the CBN Anchor Borrowers’ Programme and SWAY AgFin.
Obikanye noted that these achievements are a product of Sterling Bank’s deliberate focus on long-term agricultural transformation.
“Our strategy is built on three pillars: empowerment, innovation and sustainability. We are empowering farmers through finance, innovating through technology, and promoting sustainability through climate-smart agriculture. The result is not just better yields, it’s better livelihoods and stronger communities,” he said.
Sterling Bank’s leadership in agricultural advocacy and investment will again take centre stage at the upcoming Agriculture Summit Africa (ASA) 2025, scheduled for November 6–7, 2025, where thought leaders and innovators will convene under the theme ‘Survival of the Greenest: Reclaiming Africa’s Food Destiny.’
The summit, convened annually by Sterling Bank, has become one of Africa’s foremost platforms for driving sustainable agricultural policy and investment. ASA 2025 will bring together policymakers, financiers, agribusiness leaders, and farmers to co-create practical solutions for achieving a resilient, food-secure continent.
“World Food Day and ASA 2025 are connected by a single truth,” Obikanye concluded. “Africa’s food future will be secured only when we combine innovation, capital, and compassion to build systems that feed our people and protect our planet,” he said.
Through its H.E.A.R.T. strategy, focusing on Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation, Sterling Bank continues to drive investments that promote sustainable development, inclusive growth, and shared prosperity across Africa.
Sterling Bank Limited is a full-service national commercial bank in Nigeria and a member of Sterling Financial Holdings Group. With a heritage of more than 60 years, the bank has evolved from Nigeria’s pre-eminent investment banking institution to a trusted provider of retail, commercial and corporate banking services.
Sterling is a forward-thinking financial institution committed to transforming lives through innovative solutions, exceptional service, unwavering integrity, and a steadfast focus on its HEART strategy, which centres on Health, Education, Agriculture, Renewable Energy and Transportation. As pioneers in digital banking and financial inclusion, Sterling continues to lead by example, showing how purpose-driven leadership can deliver transformative outcomes for individuals, businesses and society at large.
