WEMA BANK TRANSFORMATIVE IMPACT @ 80: Empowering the Next Generation

Wema Bank Transformative Impact @ 80: Empowering the Next Generation

Wema Bank’s approach to empowering the next generation includes youth empowerment initiatives and programmes designed to help them tap into the opportunities of the digital world, become economically active as early as possible and get a head start to success, writes Oluchi Chibuzor

What matters most in erecting an indestructible building: foundation or builders? Many would say that a building is only as strong as its foundation—and “many” would be right. However, a good foundation will remain dormant if the builders are not on board or equipped.

Applying this analogy to building a sustainable future for Nigeria, the youth can only do so much in the future if groundwork is not perfected today, and a huge part of perfecting this groundwork involves integrating the youth into existing realities and empowering them to carry on the legacy we have begun. What good is the solid foundation if the builders cannot build on it?

If the youth are to be the leaders of tomorrow, then the leaders of today must begin today, to empower the youth. If the world must survive, it is not enough for the existing generation to “lay the foundation”, it is imperative that they also empower the next generation to maximise and build on that foundation to produce the best quality of results. In a nutshell, whatever impact that we generate in present-day Nigeria will be short-lived, unless we carry the youth along, set them on the right paths and empower them with the knowledge, resources and opportunities they need to carry on the good work that has begun.

As the world continues to evolve, it is glaring that the future is technology, digital and innovation driven. The youth have tapped into these and are moving forward in that light, and the older generation must begin to develop ways to incorporate these futuristic elements into existing areas of life and work, to get the buy-in of the youth and the alignment of the next generation, so that the legacy can continue to thrive from generation to generation.

The perfect case study for this is an institution that has existed since the silent generation and is thriving now more than ever in today’s era of Gen Alpha, simultaneously catering to the needs of the older generation and remaining constantly innovative to serve the newer generations towards the greater good of a successful and sustainable future for Nigeria. This institution is Wema Bank, Nigeria’s oldest indigenous bank, now regarded as Nigeria’s most innovative bank.

Wema Bank was founded in 1945 under the silent generation era. The vision for the Bank at the time was to build an indigenous bank that could bridge the gaps created by foreign banks and serve the indigenes of Nigeria over the decades. Surviving the decades and eras of evolution since 1945, Wema Bank continued to evolve to serve the needs of each of the generation within which it operated, from the silent generation to the baby boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Zs and the Gen Alpha of today. For an indigenous bank that broke impossible ground by emerging amidst colonial struggles, Wema Bank’s legacy is one that speaks volumes for Nigeria; one that must be carried on through generations to come. It is the legacy of an experienced and long-surviving bank that grew with the decades, remained innovative and tapped into the opportunities of digital innovation and technology to remain competitive and stand at the forefront of the future of Nigerian banking.

Recognising the indispensable role of the youth as the architects of Nigeria’s future, Wema Bank assumed the role of a “big brother” or “big sister” to the Nigerian youth, developing solutions that introduce the youth to key aspects of human life, making room for the youth in existing spaces, helping them hone their skills, and empowering them to become economically active from as early as student years.

Wema Bank’s efforts to empower the next generation can be classified in two categories: Digitising the traditional and Empowering Youth for sustainable success:

“DIGITISING” THE TRADITIONAL

As the only surviving indigenous Bank to have witnessed the different eras of Nigeria’s development from the silent generation through to the Gen Alpha, one of Wema Bank’s strong points is its wealth of experience. Over the years, Wema Bank has leveraged its strength of experience, intelligently innovating to provide sustainable solutions in banking and beyond by incorporating digital technology into traditional structures and procedures.

This smart approach would not only ensure that these structures live on as the world goes digital, but very importantly, making room for the next generation to participate in the way they are inclined to—digitally. Wema Bank’s efforts in this regard cut across diverse areas and concepts ranging from banking to cooperative societies, business, and more.

PIONEERING AFRICA’S FIRST DIGITAL BANK, ALAT

In recognition of the position of digital as the future of banking and financial services, Wema Bank’s return to digital banking in 2015 saw the Bank take a new and refreshed route, becoming youth-centric and launching a digital platform that would bring financial literacy to the youth, align banking with their lifestyle and begin to ingrain the idea of banking as a concept not limited to physical banking halls and touchpoints.

Not only has this proven effective, digital banking has now become the order of the day for the youth, maintaining the concept of banking that has existed for decades but adding an innovative touch to adapt banking to newer and future generations.

DIGITAL SOLUTION FOR COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES

The concept of cooperative societies in Nigeria is one that many of the older generation would resonate with. However, the “Gen Zs” and “Gen Alpha” would likely term cooperative societies as an outdated or archaic concept. Who wants to go through the stress of physical meetings, manual recordkeeping, poor communication structure and incessant conflicts over who paid what and who’s owing? Not the generation that has been born into a digital world.

With the manual nature of cooperative societies in Nigeria, it wouldn’t be wrong to predict that cooperative societies would be a thing of the past by the next century. So how would this gap be addressed? In Wema Bank’s way, a digital intervention.

In May 2024, Wema Bank launched CoopHub, a digital solution designed to transform the way cooperative societies operate by optimising processes, digitising operations and fostering mutual transparency to prevent conflict. CoopHub brought the digital touch to the traditional concept of cooperative societies, serving the purpose of collective growth which cooperatives were established for, while eliminating tedious processes to ensure that both members and admins can function excellently from the comfort of their phones. Much like ALAT did for banking, CoopHub has introduced a new era where Nigerians can join cooperative societies with a few clicks on their phones, make contributions, track funds, get updated and announcements, make withdrawals and more, without ever having to make a physical trip. With CoopHub, both members and admins can view and track contributions and records with ease, significantly minimising chances of conflict and reducing the time that would have been spent sieving through tons of files to a one-minute record retrieval process. This groundbreaking innovation would essentially showcase cooperative societies in a new light, giving room for youth to participate and creating a foundation for cooperative societies to thrive beyond generations.

LAUNCHING ALAT XPLORE APP

As digital evolution continues to advance, there arises a need for practical education on real life concepts and procedures before adulthood. School curriculums may not cover practical processes like making a transfer or writing a good CV, using a debit card, etc. While these may seem trivial, concepts like practical financial literacy should be inculcated ahead of adulthood, to ensure that by the time these adolescents become adults, they already have a hang of how things work and are better equipped to make smart financial decisions.

To this end, Wema Bank, in October 2024, launched the ALAT Xplore App, Nigeria’s first licensed banking app for teenagers ages 13 to 17. Designed strategically with an understanding of the intricate nature of teenagers under 18 as minors, the ALAT Xplore App works with a parental control dynamic that allows teenagers practically explore financial literacy with a degree of supervision by the parent or guardian. With the ALAT Xplore App, teens can set savings goals towards any target of their choice, ranging from as critical as educational supplies and savings towards university to savings for hangouts with friends, gifts and more. Beyond savings, the ALAT Xplore App also offers teenagers access to debit cards issued in their own name, providing a sense of financial independence for teens where they can make payments on their own. As a safety measure, the parents or guardians can monitor these transactions to ensure their teens are using money the right way. Other features on the ALAT Xplore App include a “Send Money” feature where teens can make transfers of a limited amount of money, a “Request Money” feature where they can request funds from their parents or guardians through a simple notification, airtime and data purchases allowing teens to recharge airtime and data on the app, among other features.

With the ALAT Xplore App, the world will gradually get to a place where teenagers have mastered digital and financial literacy ahead of adulthood.

EMPOWERING YOUTH FOR SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

Beyond providing digital alternatives to traditional concepts, Wema Bank’s approach to empowering the next generation includes youth empowerment initiatives and programmes designed to help them tap into the opportunities of the digital world, become economically active as early as possible and get a head start to success. Among these are:

HACKAHOLICS

The startup and FinTech industries present a huge growth opportunity for the Nigerian economy, as the global landscape for technology and innovation continues to advance. With youth comprising the majority of Nigeria’s population, Nigeria stands at an advantage. However, a gap exists in visibility and access to finance. This is where Wema Bank’s Hackaholics comes in.

Launched in 2019, Hackaholics is Wema Bank’s youth-focused startup competition which provides a platform for youth with creative, tech-driven or tech-enabled game-changing ideas to bring their ideas to life and build their own startups. Since its launch, Hackaholics has toured several university campuses, challenging Nigerian youth to develop solutions across key verticals ranging from health and education to finance and more, connecting these youth with experts to refine their solutions, providing a platform for them to showcase these solutions and supporting them with financial resources to turn their ideas into meaningful ventures.

Hackaholics has grown to become Africa’s largest campus based ideathon, disbursing over $300,000 in grants since its launch. This trailblazing initiative continues to combat unemployment and underemployment by providing entrepreneurial options for youth while breaking silos to empower more Nigerian youth to make their big break into the tech industry. With each new edition, more youth are taking the bold step of venturing into tech from as early as their undergraduate years, becoming startup owners and in the long run, employers of labour.

ALAT SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAMME

Designed to cater to the needs of professionally inclined youth, Wema Bank launched its summer internship programme with the goal of nurturing young Nigerians for a successful career in the banking industry. Giving these youth a head start, the ALAT Summer internship targets undergraduate youth, offering hands-on experience and insights to bridge the gap between academia and the corporate world and giving them an understanding of what a career in the banking industry would entail, to ensure that upon graduation, these youth are experienced enough to add meaningful value to the organisations they work with.

The ALAT Summer Internship Programme holds annually, empowering the next generation of bankers ahead of the start of their careers.

NYSC-ALAT ACCELERATOR PROGRAMME

Recognising the gap that exists between education and work, Wema Bank launched the NYSC-ALAT Accelerator Programme to enable a smooth education to employment transition for youth.

Launched in partnership with the National Youth Service Corps and Microsoft Philanthropy, the NYSC-ALAT Accelerator Programme is designed for youth who are serving under the NYSC, providing tailored intellectual and financial support for both professionally and business inclined youth to kickstart their careers and businesses and transition seamlessly from the NYSC to work-life, without having to struggle with unemployment. The NYSC-ALAT Accelerator Programme offers job placements, guidance on business plan writing for entrepreneurial youth, grants and many other opportunities, significantly minimising unemployment and empowering young people to make meaningful livings.

FGN-ALAT DIGITAL SKILLNOVATION PROGRAMME

The FGN-ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme is birthed from a strategic partnership between Wema Bank and the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Office of the Vice President, with the goal of equipping young Nigerians with a versatile set of in demand and highly sought after skills and opportunities tailored to their individual aspirations for career and business and suited to market realities.

Since its launch in 2023, over 300,000 Nigerian youth have benefitted from the FGN-ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme, acquiring business, career, digital literacy and employability skills to make them sought after in their respective fields. The FGN-ALAT Digital Skillnovation Programme has evolved beyond the individual successes of the Nigerian youth into investing in the broader goal of national progress, reducing unemployment, promoting job creation, boosting innovation, and empowering the youth of today as a whole, towards a more prosperous and sustainably successful future.

These are but a few of the many initiatives, solutions and efforts Wema Bank continues to make in empowering the next generation to carry on the legacy, meet global standards of excellence and build on the foundation that the older generation has laid.

SUMMARY

With over 60% of Africa’s population being the youth, strategic and intelligent youth empowerment is the key to a sustainably successful and prosperous future for Africa. Wema Bank’s perceptive strategy of driving digital empowerment and promoting a passion for innovation among Nigerian youth is a foolproof approach that is sure to shape the right future for Nigeria and by extension, Africa.

So yes, both the foundation and the builders are key to perfecting a great building; and Wema Bank is not just laying the foundation, it is empowering the youth to build upon that foundation and stand at the forefront of the global economy as the times progress.