In preparation for its 80th anniversary, Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has unveiled the identity for its 80th anniversary celebration.

Set for Friday, May 2nd, 2025, this grand anniversary would serve as the hallmark of Wema Bank’s 80-year journey of unmatched resilience, profound impact and notable transformation from being Nigeria’s oldest indigenous bank to becoming Nigeria’s foremost and leading innovative bank.

Wema Bank’s impressive 80-year legacy has been one exemplified by immense growth, with the Bank evolving intelligently through the decades, embracing innovation to break new grounds and raising the standards of banking and financial services to provide an unparalleled experience for its customers and stakeholders, both internally and externally. Now on the cusp of its milestone celebration of 80 years, Wema Bank stands at its all-time strongest, proving to be a formidable force in the African financial services industry.

All eyes are peeled in anticipation of what Wema Bank will bring on in the coming weeks, as its 80th anniversary celebrations begin to unfold.

Chelsea captain Reece James has been ruled out of Saturday’s Premier League match against Leicester City due to a hamstring injury.

The setback comes just weeks after James returned to action in October, following an earlier injury that kept him out at the start of the season. Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca confirmed the news on Thursday, expressing hope that the issue won’t result in a long-term absence.

“Reece felt something minor in his hamstring, and we don’t want to take any chances this weekend,” Maresca said. “Hopefully, it’s nothing serious, but he’ll need to sit out while we assess further.”

James, 24, has struggled with injuries over the past two seasons, raising concerns about his fitness. Despite this, Maresca remains optimistic that the England international will eventually move past his injury struggles.

Chelsea’s injury woes extend beyond James, with doubts also surrounding the fitness of Romeo Lavia, Malo Gusto, Wesley Fofana, and Jadon Sancho. Cole Palmer and Levi Colwill recently withdrew from England duty due to fitness issues, further compounding the club’s challenges.

This weekend’s fixture marks Maresca’s return to Leicester City, a club he led to Championship promotion last season before joining Chelsea. Reflecting on his time at Leicester, Maresca described it as a “fantastic season” and expressed gratitude for the connections formed with players and staff.

Chelsea fans will be hoping for a swift recovery for James and other key players as the team looks to stabilize its campaign.

…Awarded:
• SME Financier of the Year (Africa)
• Platinum Award for Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs (Africa)

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s foremost innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has received two awards of excellence at the Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards 2024 which held in São Paulo, Brazil between September 16 & 18, 2024. The awards received are SME Financier of the Year (Africa) and Platinum Award for Best Financier for Women Entrepreneurs (Africa).

The Global SME Finance Forum is the world’s leading, technically oriented and geographically diverse platform focused solely on scaling SME financing worldwide. Managed by this Forum, The Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards is dedicated to acknowledging the effective and successful practices of financiers across the world, honouring the innovative products and services these financiers create for SMEs, recognising the impressive results in expanding finance and services to SMEs, and celebrating these exceptional financial institutions. Wema Bank emerged Africa’s top financier not just for the general SME landscape but also particularly for women-owned SMEs, at the 2024 edition of the annual Global SME Finance Forum Conference Awards.

Reputed as the Bank of choice for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), Wema Bank received recognition for its commendable track record of developing innovative, sustainable and significantly impactful products, services, solutions and opportunities for businesses of all sizes across Nigeria. The Bank’s impact ranges from affordable financing options and seamless payment collection solutions to access to market, digital solutions for efficient business operation and management, SME Advisory services, and a vast range of products tailored to the needs of businesses across every part of Nigeria. Through its women-focused proposition, SARA by Wema, Wema Bank continues to tailor its SME offerings specifically for women, helping these women build sustainable businesses and access the resources needed to scale and thrive. The Bank further supports overall growth and well-being of these women with affordable to free healthcare packages. It is beyond doubt that Wema Bank is indeed deserving of its recognition as Africa’s top financier for SMEs and particularly, women entrepreneurs.

Expounding on the Bank’s glaring commitment to empowering MSMEs, the MD/CEO of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, articulated the big picture for the Bank. “MSMEs make up the bulk of Nigeria’s economy and they are critical to not only mitigating unemployment and other macroeconomic challenges but also promoting innovation and significantly boosting the economy towards national development. At Wema Bank, we recognise the potential that MSMEs hold as well as the challenges that threaten the maximisation of this potential, and we have made a lifelong commitment to providing viable, seamless, accessible, affordable, reliable and effective solutions tailored to the needs of businesses of all sizes across Nigeria; especially women-owned businesses. There is a rising need for intentionally inclusive empowerment strategies in not only stimulating growth in the SME sector but also bridging the gap in gender equality, and we have undertaken the responsibility of fulfilling that need. As a Bank, our mission is to empower lives through innovation, and as always, we will continue to seek more effective ways to empower businesses for optimal productivity and sustainable growth”.

“We are honoured by the global recognition accorded to us by the Global SME Finance Forum and as we receive these awards, we reiterate our commitment to providing businesses with the resources they need and a bouquet of intelligent solutions that mitigate prevalent challenges and make business management and operation seamless, maximally profitable and efficient. Thank you to the Global SME Finance Forum for the acknowledgement, and also to our valued customers who continue to entrust the future of their businesses and their financial well-being in our hands. This prestigious recognition honours our unwavering commitment to empowering SMEs and fostering innovation in SME finance, further fuelling our drive to consistently go above and beyond in accelerating growth for SMEs and delivering optimum value to every stakeholder. We are indeed the Bank of choice for MSMEs and women across Nigeria, and we will never relent in empowering women to thrive and businesses to scale regardless of economic fluctuations”, Oseni remarked.

Wema Bank continues to raise the standards of banking and financial services in Nigeria, demonstrating a commitment to generating positive impact across diverse verticals, a dedication to exceeding expectations and a passion for empowering lives and businesses for success.

Businesses interested in accessing the Bank’s tailored range of finance options and business-centric solutions are encouraged to visit https://wemabank.com/smes or send an email to smehelpdesk@wemabank.com to get started.