…introduces Voice Banking, Tap and Pay and Uptime Prediction

Wema Bank, Nigeria’s most innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has launched the upgraded version of its flagship digital banking platform, ALAT by Wema. Designed as the next phase in digital banking, the upgraded version of ALAT delivers a smarter, faster, and more intuitive experience, reinforcing Wema Bank’s leadership in technology-driven financial services.

Tagged ALAT: The Evolution, the upgraded version represents a significant advancement in how customers interact with their bank.

It enables seamless banking through intelligent features such as voice banking (called SAW), which allows customers to carry out banking activities using natural voice commands, reducing friction and improving accessibility. It also introduces Tap and Pay for quick, secure, and convenient contactless transactions, alongside uptime prediction that enhances transparency, reliability, and confidence around service availability.

Together, these innovations are designed to simplify everyday banking while anticipating customer needs in real time, reinforcing Wema Bank’s commitment to trust, efficiency, and customer-centric digital experiences.

Announcing the upgraded version, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank, Mr. Moruf Oseni, said, “ALAT: The Evolution is more than an upgrade. It is a clear demonstration of our commitment to redefining digital banking in Africa.

” By understanding the future of banking and listening closely to our customers, we have upgraded ALAT by Wema to a digital banking platform that is smart, intelligent and dependable.

“This evolution reinforces our promise to deliver innovation that genuinely enhances how people live, work, and transact everyday.”

He added that migrating to the upgraded app is seamless. “Existing customers can simply visit the Google Play Store or Apple App Store to update their existing ALAT app and sign-in with their existing login details (All their account information and transaction history remain intact on their profile and they will also gain access to new features that make banking faster, more intuitive, and more reliable).

For new customers, all they have to do is visit the Google Play Store or Apple App Store to download ALAT by Wema app and click the Get Started icon to onboard seamlessly.

Speaking on the technology in the upgraded ALAT by Wema, Mr. Olusegun Adeniyi, Chief Digital Officer at Wema Bank, explained, “With ALAT: The Evolution, we set out to enhance not just functionality but the overall banking experience. By integrating voice banking, contactless payments, and predictive reliability, we are delivering a platform that is built on powerful technology and responds intelligently to customer needs. This upgrade reflects our long-term digital vision to create a digital bank that is adaptive, intuitive, and consistently available.”

Built on speed, intelligence, and user-centric design, ALAT: The Evolution redefines everyday banking through intuitive features such as voice-enabled transactions, contactless payments, and predictive service reliability. Designed to anticipate customer needs in real time, the platform delivers a smarter, more seamless, and dependable digital banking experience that reflects Wema Bank’s vision for the future of finance.

With the upgraded version of ALAT, Wema Bank continues to strengthen its position as a digital-first institution, delivering innovative solutions that empower individuals and businesses to bank with confidence in an increasingly digital economy.

Billionaire energy tycoon, Jubril Adewle Tinubu has hailed two of Nigeria’s influential investors —Femi Otedola and Tony Elumelu —for wrapping up the year 2025 and ringed in 2026 with two landmark deals.

In a post Thursday on his various social handles, Tinubu spotlights Otedola’s ‘investor foresightedness’ and Elumelu’s deliberate ‘bet on African capability’ as inspiring moves in the energy sector that will spur others into a roaring start.

The Oando Plc Group Chief Executive wrote: “Reflecting on the first week of work in 2026, Femi Otedola and Tony O. Elumelu have given us a roaring start already. With the Geregu exit, Femi turned an investment in power into a landmark deal, while simultaneously deepening his position in banking. This speaks to deft positioning.

“Femi, you backed investor foresight with conviction and knew exactly when to act decisively. The mark of an exceptional investor is not simply in making an investment. The mastery lies in knowing when to exit. This, I must admit, was executed in spectacular fashion.

“For Tony, stepping into Seplat as a major shareholder is a long, deliberate bet on African capability; on ownership; on governance and on the belief that our energy future should increasingly be shaped by those who live and build at home. These are exceptional deals that set the tone not just for the year ahead, but for how value is truly created,” Tinubu concluded.

Industry stakeholders have equally described the two billionaires’ late 2025 megadeals as a fast changing pecking order in the volatile energy sector.

Otedola had reportedly cashed out when he ceded control of his high-yielding Geregu Power Plc through a change at the holding company level.

The billionaire businessman has divested his 77 per cent controlling stake in the company in a landmark $750m transaction.

In a notice filed with the Nigerian Exchange, NGX, Otedola exited Geregu as majority shareholder with MA’AM Energy Ltd acquired 95% of his Amperion Power Distribution Co., changing the ultimate beneficial ownership of 77% of Geregu’s issued share capital.

Geregu is among the NGX’s most watched electricity stocks, helped by steady earnings in a market hit by gas constraints and payment shortfalls.

Otedola, it is learnt, intends to redeploy the capital into financial sector investments. The Epe-born investor is the Chairman of First HoldCo Plc, a financial holding company he owns more than 18 percent of its stake.

Elumelu, the banking tycoon, also through his Heirs Group, created a sensation at the twilight of 2025 when he bought Maurel & Prom entire 20.07% stake —about 120.4 million shares— in Seplat Plc, in a deal valued at roughly $500 million.

Seplat’s rise has been fueled by a $1.28 billion purchase of ExxonMobil’s onshore business, completed last year, which added oil blocks, fields and export infrastructure.

On his part, Tinubu has also emerged one of the few titans who command a great deal of reverence in Nigeria’s vast and ever-evolving energy landscape. He has led his Oando Plc into a status of one of Nigeria’s best known indigenous energy names, listed in Lagos and Johannesburg, with upstream interests and trading and logistics operations.

Following the 2-day pre-pitch for the grand finale, Wema Bank, Nigeria’s leading innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has announced the Top 20 finalists for Hackaholics 6.0. The 2-day pre-pitch took place on December 16 and 17, 2025.

The Top 20 finalists for Hackaholics 6.0 include Top 10 for the Hackathon stream and Top 10 for the Ideathon Stream. The Hackathon finalists are Rapid DEV, Secure IT, Neurafeed, Trust Lock Babcock, Pulse Track, IlluminiTrust, Trust Lock FUTA, Fix Fraud AI, KASH Flow and VOC AI. The Ideathon finalists are PLOY, Fertitude, VarsityScape, Mama ALERT, StockMed, Chao, All Arbitrate, FarmSlate, Sane AI and Cycle X.

Expounding on the unique approach implemented for Hackaholics 6.0, Moruf Oseni, Wema Bank’s MD/CEO commented, “Hackaholics started off as a hackathon and morphed into an ideation.

“For Hackaholics 6.0, the sixth edition, we decided to give both the builders of new solutions and the refiners of existing ones, an opportunity to make meaningful impact.

” For us at Wema Bank, we understand that innovation isn’t just building from scratch. Sometimes, it’s looking at what exists and developing new ways to optimise that and create more efficiency. This is the idea behind our two-stream Ideathon-Hackathon structure.”

“Every year , Hackaholics shows us just how eager and motivated Nigerian youth are when it comes to exploring creativity and innovation, and we are honoured to be the institution that provides them with the platform and resources to put this drive to good use. We toured 7 cities, indulged 1,460 participants and discovered hundreds of remarkable ideas; some of which needed some refining and some of which deserved to move to the next stage.

“For those who needed to go back to the drawing board, we provided useful guidance and for the top contenders, we were able to shortlist to the Top 43, who proceeded to the pre-pitch. To every participant, Wema Bank is proud of you. This is just the beginning”, Oseni added.

The Pre-pitch saw the Top 43 contenders battle in a game of innovation and problem solving, presenting compelling pitches for a chance to make it to Top 10 in their respective streams. After a rigorous stretch of pitches and presentations, the Top 20 emerged, securing their spot in the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0.

Scheduled to take place on December 19, 2025, the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 will convene the top players in Africa’s tech and innovation ecosystem, creating an avenue for these finalists to not only put their creativity to the ultimate test but also give their solutions visibility to potential investors for additional funding opportunities beyond the prizes to be won.

The prizes to be won for the Ideathon include N25 million for the Winner, N20 million for the first runner-up, N15 million for the second runner-up and N5 million each for 2 women-led teams.

In the Hackathon category, the first to fourth-place winners will receive N20 million, N15 million, N10 million and N5 million respectively.

Anyone interested in watching the grand finale of Hackaholics 6.0 live, is invited to join virtually via Wema Bank’s official YouTube channel @Wema Bank and keep track of the conversation on social media using #Hackaholics6