Nigeria’s leading digital bank, Wema Bank Plc, has reassured its stakeholders that it continues to operate with best-in-class governance processes.

The bank also faulted the premise on which a non-governmental organisation, Transparency Nigeria Group, asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to remove its Managing Director/CEO, describing the call as baseless.

The bank reassured its customers and stakeholders that it has and would continue to operate with the highest level of corporate governance, following all rules, policies, and procedures.

“We have no links to any political party and neither are we agents, allies or proxies of any politicians in the country. We are a financial institution solely committed to financial intermediation to enable and fast track the socio-economic development of the country,” the bank said.

The statement further explains that Wema Bank’s observance and strict adherence to due diligence and extant rules and regulations is why it is the oldest surviving indigenous bank in Nigeria.

For more information visit www.wemabank.com

Lagos, Nigeria. Friday, December 3, 2021: Nigeria’s leading digitally-driven financial institution, Wema Bank today announced the signing of Davido as Brand Ambassador for its digital bank, ALAT By Wema. The bank formalised the partnership at a ceremony on Friday, December 3 when the musician signed the dotted lines.

A few weeks ago, the multiple award-winning artiste raised N200 million when he posted his ALAT account before his 29th birthday and asked industry friends to donate. Subsequently, he personally contributed N50 million and announced plans to donate all funds raised to orphanages across the country.

On Friday, the innovative and customer-centric bank and the musician affirmed their partnership with Davido’s announcement as Brand Ambassador at its corporate headquarters in Lagos.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Managing Director/CEO, Wema Bank, Ademola Adebise, lauded Davido’s artistry, including his body of work and generosity, noting that it takes a genuine altruist to do what he did by giving away all the donations.

He added that Davido’s announcement as their Brand Ambassador affirms the bank’s strategic repositioning efforts and its youth-centric focus.

 “We welcome you warmly to our great family, the home of innovators and enterprising people who meet our customer’s needs with innovative products and excellent services that fit their lifestyles and empower their aspirations. You are set for a good time with us, and we assure you this relationship would be mutually beneficial,” Adebise said.

Speaking on the brand ambassadorship and his association with Wema Bank and ALAT. Davido said, “I am excited to join the Wema Bank family and look forward to the great things we will achieve together.”

At the signing ceremony, Davido was taken on a tour of Wema Bank’s corporate headquarters in Marina, Lagos, and was hosted at a cocktail reception at The Wings Complex in Victoria Island.

Speaking at the end of the ceremony, the Head, Marketing Communications and Investor Relations, Wema Bank, Funmilayo Falola, thanked the artist and his management team, while affirming Wema Bank’s commitment to excellent service.

ALAT by Wema, Nigeria’s first fully digital bank, will host the third session of its Talk Series on Thursday, October 28, 2021, via teleconferencing application, Zoom. The Talk Series is a virtual session for young Nigerians to exchange ideas and insights about life, relationships, technology, and finance, offering them informed opinions from experts and other experienced young professionals who are knowledgeable in various areas.

This edition, themed ‘Relationship, Love and Work: How To Juggle It All‘, will provide young Nigerians with the skills and information that will assist with combining a hectic work lifestyle with a healthy sex/love life. 

Akah and Claire Nnani, actor, and artist; Hannah Jonathan, Sex Therapist and Funmilayo Falola, Head, Marketing Communications and Investor Relations, Wema Bank, have been confirmed as speakers for this session. The event will also be moderated by multi-talented media personality and co-host of hit YouTube show, OffAir, Gbemi Olateru-Olagbegi.

The Nnanis will share more details about their partnership and speak about “Relationship and Work: Lines Not to Cross,” while Hannah Jonathan will discuss “Managing Sexual Depression and Embracing a Healthy Sexual Lifestyle.” Funmilayo Falola, will share insights from her personal and professional experience on “Juggling Finance and Relationship Decisions”.

Healthy work-life balance, especially during the pandemic, has been one of the biggest issues for young professionals across the world. The audience will have the opportunity to send in questions before the event using #ALATTalkSeries on social media or via the live chat option during the session.

According to a statement by Mrs Falola, “We are fully committed to encouraging young Nigerians to build meaningful partnerships while maintaining financial independence and developing their business skills. With the Talk Series, we are encouraging young professionals and other young Nigerians to discuss critical issues in a safe environment and find solutions with peers and other experienced minds.”

Akah Nnani, a Nollywood Actor and Youtube content creator, has starred in Nollywood favourites such as The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, Tinsel, Jenifa’s Diaries and Omo Ghetto The Saga. He is currently starring in a new ShowMax series, ‘Ghana Jollof’ alongside comedian, Basketmouth.

Claire Idera Nnani runs an independent design workshop in Lagos and teaches students. She has previously worked as a freelance fashion designer and illustrator and boasts of a robust portfolio with clients like Lisa Folawiyo, Zashadu, Refashion Africa, Grey Velvet, Hugo Boss amongst many others.

Hannah Jonathan is a certified life and sex coach whose goal is to help singles and couples find joy in sexuality and sensuality.

Funmilayo Falola currently heads the Marketing Communications and Investor Relations function in Wema Bank. She has over 16 years of experience in the marketing and communications sector and has held various managerial positions in different companies within and outside the sector.

ALAT by Wema has continually shown support for young Nigerians across the country through various youth-friendly initiatives, including a partnership with SociaLiga and other initiatives tailored towards the youths.

The company has also won numerous awards, such as the Best Digital Bank and Best Mobile App in Nigeria at the 2017 World Finance Awards, Best Digital Bank in Africa at the 2018 Asian Banker Awards, amongst many others.

Wema Bank has announced the appointment of two Non-Executive Directors to its Board of Directors following the approval of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The two new directors are Prince Olusegun Adesegun and Mr Adeyemi Adefarakan, both of whom are bringing a wealth of corporate administrative experience to the bank. Prince Olusegun Adesegun is a Psychologist with a Masters’ Degree in Industrial Psychology from the University of Ibadan.

He worked in Pyramid Products Limited, starting as Manager in Training and rose to become the General Manager of the then Eastern Zone in 1988. Upon retirement, he engaged in private business and has over time garnered experience in marketing administration, management, and supply chain logistics solutions. He eventually became the CEO of Pecol Ventures Limited – a cash crop export and paper products company which he helped grow from a small producer to a large, world-class Agric-Export firm.

Between 2011 – 2015, Prince Olusegun Adesegun served as the Deputy Governor of Ogun State. He is currently a Career Counsellor and Consultant for high-quality investment decisions. In a career that spans 20 years, Adeyemi Adefarakan joins Wema Bank’s Board of Directors with valuable experience in global investment banking, portfolio risk, asset, and financial management exposure. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Economics & Accountancy from the prestigious City University, London, and holds a master’s degree in International Securities, Investment & Banking from the acclaimed ICMA Centre at the University of Reading, U.K. He is also an alumnus of the Emerging CFO: Strategic Financial Leadership Programme at Stanford Graduate School of Business, USA, and currently pursuing a Global CEO Africa Programme in the triumvirate of business schools comprising Lagos Business School, Strathmore Business School (Nairobi, Kenya) and Yale School of Management (Connecticut, USA).

He forged his career on the trading floors of some of London’s financial powerhouses including State Street Global Markets, DRW Investments, JP Morgan Chase, Deutsche Bank and HSBC Global Asset Management. In his years in London, he traded both vanilla and complex instruments and risk-managed multi-billion-dollar multi-asset portfolios. Mr Adeyemi currently serves as the Group Chief Financial Officer and an Executive Director on the board of CBSL (Continental Broadcasting Service Limited) alongside other board positions where he creates and extracts shareholder value through active board engagement. 

Speaking on the appointments, Mr Ademola Adebise, MD/CEO of Wema Bank said: “It thrills us to welcome the new appointees to the Board of Wema Bank. The decision to appoint Mr Yemi and Mr Olusegun is because of their wealth of experience in corporate and public administration which is key to the success of the Board of Wema Bank. We believe their skills and industry will be valuable to the bank as we work to actualize our goals of becoming the Most Dominant Digital Banking Platform in Nigeria.”

Leading innovative financial institution, Wema Bank, is fulfilling its promise to make this year as exciting as possible for its customers with the commencement of its newly launched reward scheme, 5 for 5, in which customers stand an excellent chance to win amazing prizes over the next nine months.

Beginning from the 1st of July, the bank will be rewarding its customers with cash prizes to appreciate them for their unwavering loyalty and patronage. The reward scheme, which will run for a record of 9 months, will see some customers move up the social status ladder as millionaires emerge in the promo draws that will cover many customers in different locations in the country.

In the mind-blowing promo, N31.5 million would be given away to customers in nine months by the bank marking its 76th anniversary this year. There is a monthly grand prize of N1,000,000 for 1 customer, N100,000 for 20 customers and N10,000 consolation prizes for 50 customers monthly. This gives a total of 71 people getting rewarded each month.

Explaining the participation process, Retail Divisional Head, Wema Bank, Dotun Ifebogun, disclosed that it is open to new and existing customers. “All they need to do to win is fund their accounts with at least N5,000 and carry out a minimum of 5 transactions on either ALAT, USSD or with their cards, monthly and maintain a minimum account balance of N10,000 at the end of the month,” Dotun said.

He further noted that the unique thing about the 5 for 5 promo is the equal chance it gives everyone to participate. It is open to new and existing customers and those who reactivate their accounts. To meet those needs, banks need to make customer experience the starting point for process design hence our desire to reward as they transact. According to him, 5 for 5 Promo is another way of putting a smile on the faces of its customers and changing their lives for good.

Dotun stated: “5 for 5 is unique because our customers nationwide have the chance to become millionaires every month after electronic draws. We are known for going the extra mile to give our customers the best, and this is just one of our numerous ways of appreciating them.”

Winners have emerged in the Wema Bank Royal Kiddies essay competition, which was organized by the Bank to commemorate the International Children’s Day Celebration last month.

The Wema Bank essay competition tagged “Write & Win”, was to test the creative writing abilities of young school children in Nigeria aged 5 – 12 years. It sought to develop the kids’ writing skills, promote their creativity, imaginative capabilities, reward creativity, as well as drive them towards excellence in their learning process. The Retail Divisional Head, Dotun Ifebogun, said “we want to ensure we support children and help channel their thoughts towards educational and mind building activities

According to his statement, Joanne Mosaku emerged as the overall winner having scored 78 percent, and was closely followed by Aiman Elelu and Oshodi Inioluwa, both of whom tied at 76 percent. He explained that the bank received over 100 entries for the essay competition and these were subjected to checks for qualification criteria of age, minimum account deposit of #20,000, and adherence to the deadline. The essays were assessed along with key parameters of content, organization, grammar, mechanics, and style, the bank said. A foremost online educational management company, Mind and Smith, assessed and graded the essays.

Out of the 10 winners, the top three Essays will each get Huawei tablets and Royal Kiddies branded T-shirts. The seven other finalists will each get a N20,000 prepaid gift card for school supplies in addition to a branded T-shirt. Wema Bank Royal Kiddies Account gives your kids an early start to financial freedom. It is for kids from birth to 12 years old and provides them access to school fees advance, scholarships to fund their education.