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80 Years of Impact: How Wema Bank is Empowering Businesses to Scale
As the world commemorates World MSME Day today, Sunday Ehigiator highlights the pivotal role that the nation’s oldest indigenous bank, Wema Bank, has played in shaping the future of indigenous businesses in Nigeria, empowering MSMEs to thrive, boosting the economy
MSMEs are arguably the lifeblood of the economy. The United Nations reports that MSMEs account for 90 per cent of businesses, 60-70 per cent of employment and 50 per cent of GDP worldwide, outnumbering big businesses and corporations and playing a crucial role in sustaining livelihoods. In Nigeria specifically, the impact of MSMEs on economic growth and national development cannot be overemphasised. According to the NBS/SMEDAN MSME 2021 survey report, MSMEs constituted 96.9% of businesses, contributed 46.32 per cent to GDP, accounted for 6.21 per cent of exports, and 87.9 per cent of employment. Essentially, the MSME sector is the backbone upon which the economy thrives, presenting both an opportunity and a challenge. The opportunity: empower the MSME industry to keep the economy thriving. The challenge: How?
MSME empowerment is one of the key drivers to a thriving economy. This empowerment, however, is one that requires collective efforts from the government, public and private individuals and industries. This is why individuals and organisations that go the extra mile to bridge the gaps in MSME Empowerment, are key to sustaining a thriving economy. Wema Bank is one of such private-sector organisations that have not only identified the need for collective efforts towards MSME empowerment but also gone steps ahead to champion its own movement for empowering MSMEs on various scales, partnering with governments and other credible institutions where necessary to amplify impact. The 80-year-old bank’s MSME Empowerment track record spans decades, with many referring to the Bank as “Nigeria’s SME Bank”, a term the Bank has earned as a result of its rich history of supporting businesses and empowering them with practical solutions tailored to their needs. More specifically, Wema Bank’s history and track record of MSME empowerment can be traced as far back as the Bank’s inception in 1945.
EMPOWERING MSMEs
Wema Bank clocked 80 years on May 2nd 2025, commemorating the 80th anniversary of Nigeria’s oldest indigenous bank. However, the Bank’s track record of MSME-Empowerment dates back to its inception in the 1900s, when an illustrious Nigerian employee-turned-trader, Late Chief Mathew Adekoya Okupe, discovered a gap in access to financial services for indigenous Nigerians. At the point when Chief Okupe ventured into trading, he saw firsthand as a business owner, what it meant to own a business in Nigeria, what was required to help that business thrive and more insightfully, why it was important to create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive.
In an era where colonial rule had the system wired to favour the colonial government and expatriates, indigenous Nigerians could neither access the financial support they needed to make a living nor the platform to thrive towards financial independence. At this pivotal point, a vision was brought to life, one that would change the trajectory of Nigeria’s MSME sector forever. This vision was Nigeria’s oldest indigenous bank, Wema Bank, established in 1945 to provide financial services tailored to the needs of indigenous Nigerians and built to empower intending and existing Nigerian MSMEs to become and remain economically active.
Over the years, Wema Bank continued to evolve with the times, consistently enhancing its capabilities to meet the needs of its equally evolving customers. As the digital evolution rejigged industries in the second half of the 20th century, Wema Bank continued to adapt and evolve, leveraging the opportunities provided by the growing digital era to not only improve on itself, but also generate more impact. After pioneering Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, in 2017, Wema Bank went on to launch ALAT For Business in 2018, changing the game for Nigerian businesses.
Recognising digital as the future, Wema Bank proactively introduced Nigerian businesses to ALAT for Business, a platform that would allow businesses operate and access financial services 24/7 from any part of the world, using registered digital devices like phones and PCs. This meant greater efficiency, increased profitability and more sustainability for these businesses as the world continued to evolve.
As ALAT For Business continued to impact businesses, Wema Bank went on to launch its SME Toolkit, its suite of digital tools and resources curated strategically to support MSMEs by optimising operations, eliminating tedious processes and increasing efficiency. Included in this toolkit are ALATPay, the SME Business School, SME Advisory Services, as well as the ALAT For Business App.
ALAT REVOLUTION
Introduced in 2024, ALATPay is a unique payment gateway that facilitates end-to-end payments by enabling customers to buy and pay at a go while businesses receive instant settlement in any available currency. From tech enthusiasts like software developers to business owners seeking global reach, ALATPay changed the game for Nigerian businesses. Alongside ALATPay and the ALAT For Business App were the Bank’s SME Advisory Services, customised for entrepreneurs. Crowning the Wema Bank SME Toolkit off was the SME Business School, Wema Bank’s MSME-focused academy of practical learning designed specifically for MSMEs.
Wema Bank didn’t stop at empowering existing businesses. In 2019, the Bank launched its youth-focused hackathon, Hackaholics, which provided a platform for young Nigerians with creative ideas and solutions to transform their game-changing ideas into business ventures. Since 2019, Hackaholics has discovered over 5000 business ideas and disbursed over $200,000 in grants to emerging businesses across various sectors and verticals. Beyond pioneering innovative solutions, Wema Bank went further in empowering innovators. After ALAT, the Bank had paved the way for FinTechs in Africa, but a gap existed: Infrastructure. Recognising this gap, Wema Bank did the unthinkable. Rather than hoard, Wema Bank began to host promising FinTechs on its secure network, allowing them to operate with the backing of a credible financial institution, hence the reason Wema Bank is the name behind several FinTechs. Today, over 80% of Nigerian FinTechs are powered by Wema Bank.
WEMA BANK’S APPROACH TO MSME EMPOWERMENT
Wema Bank, living up to its promise of “With You, All The Way”, adopted a lifelong approach to empowering businesses. This meant that Wema Bank would not stop at simply providing financial support. Instead, Wema Bank continued to journey with businesses from scratch, providing business advisory services that gave entrepreneurs guidance on the right way to do business.
The Bank continued to steer businesses in the right direction, providing them with the intellectual resources and insights to maximise the financial resources at their disposal to remain profitable in the long run. Covering the last major gap in the Nigerian MSME industry, Wema Bank went on to provide market access to over 3,000 entrepreneurs with 135,000+ customers, resulting in $4,000,000 in sales. The Bank further initiated several partnerships with credible private and public sector players to amplify reach and generate more impact.
The most prominent of these partnerships include the FGN-ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme, launched in partnership with the Federal Government of Nigeria to empower 2 million youth and 1 million businesses with digital and business skills for long term sustainability; the NYSC-ALAT Accelerator Programme launched in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps to empower Nigerian youth with seamless school to work transition by refining their skills and providing business support ahead of their advent into the labour market; and the Transforming Nigerian Youth Programme, launched in partnership with the Enterprise Development Centre of Pan-Atlantic University to provide hundreds of thousands of MSMEs with entrepreneurial and managerial capacity-building support.
Within the past three years, Wema Bank has successfully disbursed over N350,000,000,000 in Grants and Loans to businesses across Nigeria, disbursed over N300,000,000 towards Financial Literacy and over N6,000,000,000 in promoting access to market for businesses nationwide. Wema Bank’s infallible approach? Provide aspiring entrepreneurs with capital, existing businesses with funding, and all business with intellectual resources, insights, access to market, a platform to scale and a bouquet of solutions tailored to their needs, every step of the way.
8 DECADES, COUNTLESS BUSINESSES EMPOWERED
Through the various changes and challenges that have shaped Nigeria’s economic conditions, Wema Bank has remained unwavering in its support for MSMEs. It is clear that from its inception, Wema Bank has devoted its lifetime to ensuring that Nigerians get the support they need to become economically active and businesses get the support they need to scale. It’s beyond words, the numbers and beneficiaries speak for themselves. Hundreds of business ideas were built into ventures with capital funded by Wema Bank and dozens more continued to scale with financial support provided by the Bank over the years.
One of such businesses is Elizade Motors, the sole dealer of Toyota Nigeria Limited. Its Founder, 87-year-old Chief Michael Ade-ojo, recounted the encounter that led to him becoming one of the “believers of Wema Bank”, a term he used in reference to those who have developed an unwavering trust in the Bank and its future. According to him, “My business is a business that needs financial support. I knew I could not do it alone so I began to seek a solution, which is what led me to approach Wema Bank for support and I must say, I made the right choice”. Today, Elizade Motors continues to grow and create more jobs for Nigerians of various ages. “It was easy to speak to Wema Bank, and they made it so easy. They shared my passion, understood the needs of my business and knew where to come in and support. I will simply say that I have been satisfied with the service I have received from Wema Bank. This is a Bank that has proven itself in the committee of banks, a reliable and committed financial institution, and a true partner. It is my prayer that Wema Bank continues to grow stronger, and I congratulate them on 80 years of true impact.”
Elizade Motors is just one out of thousands of businesses driven to scale by Wema Bank. Adaolisa Miracle, founder of Chrisbeks, a small-medium scale leather manufacturing business referred to Wema Bank as the backbone of her business, a trait she found commendable especially in light of prevalent economic fluctuations. The mother of 4, Adaolisa Miracle, said, “For my brand, Chrisbecks, Wema Bank has been a backbone. I remember receiving a huge contract which I didn’t have the funds to execute and I reached out to Wema Bank. Within the shortest time, Wema Bank came through and I was able to execute that contract successfully, thanks to Wema Bank. I don’t know how they do it but it shows commitment. I give kudos to Wema Bank”, she concluded.
Referring to Wema Bank as an institution that is empathetic of the situation MSMEs face in Nigeria, Sakinah Bello, a research enthusiast and founder of Berriepearl Enterprise, spoke on how Wema Bank helped support her business ventures as she navigated financial struggles particularly during the COVID-19 era. As a woman who started business after getting her degree in her early 20s, a financial institution that was committed to MSME and youth empowerment was the perfect solution she needed to survive as an entrepreneur. George Chukwuka, another entrepreneur who has benefitted greatly from Wema Bank’s SME Loans and business advisory services, gave credit to Wema Bank for the Bank’s role in building his aluminum business into a strong and competitive player in the industry. From a guarantor to a beneficiary, Mr. Stanley, another business owner, narrated how he went from standing as a guarantor for his friend to kickstarting his business relationship with Wema Bank. Seeing as his friend was doing well with Wema Bank’s support, Mr. Stanley made the smart move and now, boldly advises legitimate businesses to trust Wema Bank for financial support, as he did. Such are the countless testimonials of Wema Bank’s impact in empowering businesses to thrive and scale for 8 decades.
A FUTURE OF POSSIBILITIES
Needless to say, Wema Bank’s impact on MSMEs is deeply rooted in the very veins of Nigeria’s MSME industry. It is evident in the ideas that have become reality, the small businesses that have become empires and the many more success stories to come as Wema Bank continues to prove itself to be the Bank that supports MSMEs all the way. Wema Bank has identified the potential that MSMEs possess in keeping Nigeria’s economy perpetually stimulated and the Bank has clearly developed its own solution to the challenges that pose a threat to this great potential.
As the world commemorates World MSME Day on June 27th, 2025, Nigeria is reminded of the pivotal role that the nation’s oldest indigenous bank, Wema Bank, has played in shaping the future of indigenous businesses in Nigeria, empowering MSMEs to thrive, boosting the economy and inadvertently, promoting national development; through 80 years of impact and a future of promising possibilities.
