Writer: TOKEDE THEOPHILUS
Lately everyone who is building or currently working on a startup in Nigeria must have at one point or come across offers from Wema Bank either through the parent company or through the subsidiary which is ALAT.
The Old traditional bank which has transitioned from being a bank of the millennials has suddenly transitioned into a bank with rewarding satisfactory services for both the Gen Z and the Millennials putting its brand ahead of all other traditional banks in times of preference and service delivery.
An average customer does not want to visit a branch anymore and wait for hours in a queue to open an account or initiate a transfer, this Wema bank has positioned themselves as a solace to everyone looking for comfort by adding a well efficient fintech called the ALAT by Wema.
Ordinarily, many would have imagined the “ALAT by Wema” is going to have been another project with no results but sadly the bank has disappointed the hopes of high failure by an undisputable lead amongst her peers in internet banking and solutions.
The high-quality services delivered by Alat by Wema also earned the bank the “Digital Bank of the Year Award” recently.
One would ordinarily think the quest for Wema Bank would stop at its fintech product but sadly no, the bank has gone ahead to creating a passion driven adventure in the tech space and this brings to mind whatever the bank may or might be looking for?
The Wema Bank in 2019 started the Hackathons competition called Hackaolics project with interest in startups around the Educational, climate, CivicTech, GovTech, Healthtech and fintech for startups , founders and youths.
As a matter of fact, the bank has successfully organized this in four consecutive years, dedicating a wide range of resources teeming over $50,000 in rewards aside from logistics of events. The hackathons project which is a national project is deemed to bring teams together to compete on innovation across the country, and the bank is leaving no stone unturned in revolving this contest in the whole Geo-political zones in Nigeria.
Asides from the cash rewards, the bank is also keen on providing support for products, visibility for teams, access to community for founders alongside mentorship to startups in the country.
Another thing that comes to the mind of the writer is could there be a gap in the talents employed by Wema bank compared to other banks or do other banks not see the future in technology or innovation?
Recall that the Wema Bank team has an innovation and technology team having people like Solomon Ayodele, Ademola Olawuyi, etc., with undisputed knowledge of startups, innovation and investment on their team.
Could this be a reason to believe this is why the bank has been standing tall even in face of downturns by other financial institutions?
Is Wema Bank the new venture capital every startup can rely on in Nigeria?
Is Wema Bank looking to be the new Silicon Valley Bank for Nigerian Startups?
Is Wema bank the Nigerian YC accelerator?
Only the bank has answers that we do not know. Sooner or later, we will get answers to our questions.
Tokode Theophilus is the team lead at Osun Startup hub
