Wema Bank has successfully met the Central Bank of Nigeria’s recapitalisation requirements with Total Qualifying Capital of ₦264.7 billion, retaining its national banking licence
Wema Bank has successfully met and surpassed the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recapitalisation requirements, reaffirming its position as a national bank with a strengthened capital base.
The bank’s Total Qualifying Capital now stands at ₦264.7 billion, well above the ₦200 billion minimum threshold for national banks.
This milestone was achieved through a ₦150 billion Rights Issue and an additional ₦50 billion special placement completed in 2025, six months ahead of the CBN’s March 31, 2026 deadline.
In early April 2026, the Central Bank formally confirmed that Wema Bank, alongside 32 other financial institutions, had successfully concluded the recapitalisation exercise.
Wema is among only ten national banks that met and exceeded the required capital threshold, thereby retaining its national banking licence.
The achievement underscores the bank’s robust financial position, strong shareholder confidence, and strategic focus on sustainable growth.
It also enhances Wema Bank’s capacity to support customers, deepen market presence, and contribute meaningfully to Nigeria’s economic development.
Commenting on the milestone, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, described the successful recapitalisation as a defining moment for the institution.
“The successful completion of our recapitalisation exercise is a defining moment for Wema Bank. It is a strong validation of our strategy, our performance, and the enduring confidence our shareholders and stakeholders have in our vision. We have not only met the CBN’s requirements; we have exceeded them, reinforcing our position as a National Bank with the scale, strength, and stability to compete and lead,” Oseni said.
He added that the strengthened capital base will enable the bank to deliver greater value to customers through improved access to credit, enhanced digital banking experiences via its fully digital platform ALAT, and innovative financial solutions across retail, SME, and corporate segments.
Wema Bank, Nigeria’s oldest indigenous national bank and pioneer of Africa’s first fully digital bank, ALAT, has consistently demonstrated financial discipline since regaining its national licence in 2015.
The recent capital raise, supported primarily by existing shareholders, highlights the deep mutual trust between the bank and its investors.
The CBN’s recapitalisation programme, announced in March 2024, requires national banks to maintain a minimum capital base of ₦200 billion to strengthen the resilience of financial institutions and position them to drive sustainable economic growth.
With this milestone, Wema Bank is now better positioned to accelerate growth, support more businesses, and play a bigger role in powering Nigeria’s economy while maintaining its commitment to innovation and customer-centric solutions.
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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