Wema Bank launches the 2026 Hackaholics Accelerator program, welcoming ten startups to scale their businesses with mentorship, training, and ecosystem support
Wema Bank, Nigeria’s most innovative bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has launched the 2026 Hackaholics Accelerator cohort, welcoming ten promising startups into the program.
The Hackaholics Accelerator is a selective growth initiative designed to help Nigerian startups strengthen their foundations, gain hands-on mentorship, and prepare for sustainable scale and investment.
Commenting on the program, MD/CEO of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, said the Accelerator reflects the Bank’s commitment to supporting founders beyond ideation:
“With this second edition of Hackaholics Accelerator, we are taking the next step by supporting founders into the process of building sustainable businesses. The startups selected represent some of the most promising solutions emerging from the Hackaholics ecosystem.”
The 2026 cohort includes ten startups selected from the top performers of Hackaholics 6.0: Farmslate, Ploy, Stocmed, Feest (Chao), Varsityscape, MamaAlert, Sane, Cyclex, Kieva, and Loocomo.
Chief Transformation Officer of Wema Bank, Babatunde Mumuni, highlighted the Accelerator’s structured process for guiding founders through business growth:
“Each startup brings a unique solution to real challenges across sectors. Hackaholics Accelerator provides hands-on mentorship, strategic guidance, and network access to deepen market traction and prepare them for sustainable scale.”
The program features training sessions led by industry experts from Wema Bank and partner organizations, including Idowu Akinde, Napa Onwusa, Onaopemipo Dara, Rosemond Phil-Othihiwa, Tega Ogigirigi, and Ademola Adewuyi, among others.
Supported by IDEAx Labs and Wema Bank’s corporate venture program, Hackaholics has grown into one of Nigeria’s leading youth innovation platforms since 2019, attracting over 15,000 applicants and disbursing over $400,000 in funding to innovators and startup founders.
The Accelerator aims to help startups transition from innovative ideas to growth-ready businesses, reinforcing Wema Bank’s role in Nigeria’s digital entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Bank of Industry (BOI), Nigeria’s foremost Development finance institution and a globally recognised organisation specialising in international development cooperation with countries, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), on Wednesday April 15, 2026, signs a Partnership Framework Agreement to drive sustainable innovation and economic development for large enterprise, and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector in Nigeria.
The partnership is hinged on delivering coordinated interventions across key strategic pillars including access to finance, entrepreneurship development, capacity building, and market access; and integrates focused support for climate finance and renewable energy investments; and a robust alignment with global sustainability priorities that enables MSMEs to be engines of economic development.
With this landmark agreement, BOI and GIZ are positioned to mutually ensure that capacity building efforts for businesses focuses on strengthening the technical and institutional capabilities of BOI’s Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs), equipping them to deliver higher-impact advisory services to the Bank’s customers; as well as enshrine a structured vocational training provided under the ICSS (Inspire, Create, Start and Scale) entrepreneurship programme to enhance productivity, workforce quality and overall business competitiveness to MSMEs.
The central pillar of this year’s partnership framework is its women’s economic empowerment through targeted financing initiatives; agribusiness development and rural enterprise growth; and climate-focused investment imperative to scale its renewable energy and energy efficiency financing portfolio.
BOI will strategically deepen its efforts to secure endorsement with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) with support from GIZ, a German-led development agency.
Speaking at the announcement ceremony, MD/CEO, Bank of Industry (BOI), Dr. Olasupo Olusi, said “This partnership is about closing the gap between enterprise potential and enterprise reality. Too many Nigerian businesses, particularly MSMEs, have the ideas, the drive, and the market opportunity, but lack the financing, technical capacity, or market access needed to scale. This partnership reflects our unwavering commitment to constantly form new partnerships to strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Nigeria. By combining our financing expertise with our partner’s international development experience, we are building a comprehensive framework that will directly translate into jobs, innovation, affordable, long-term financing and sustainable growth for MSMEs in Nigeria.”
In his remarks, Country Director, GIZ Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dr. Magnus Wagner, said, “This partnership demonstrates our joint commitments to strengthening Nigeria’s private sector and to advancing sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
“Through this partnership, we aim to support small and medium enterprises. We are trying more to look at SME, formalized business, which is the resilient backbone of Nigeria’s economy. So, we would like to work, we have decided in areas such as climate and sustainable finance, renewable energy and energy efficiency, entrepreneurship and innovation, women’s economic empowerment, agribusiness and rural transformation, and digital trade and market access.
“We look forward to a close and successful collaboration with the Bank of Industry, one that delivers tangible results for business, communities, and the country and the population as a whole”.
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