Kayode Tokede posits that Wema Bank Plc has redefined what relevance means in Nigerian banking, proving that longevity and innovation can coexist.
In a world of constant change and disruption is the norm, reaching 80 years is no small feat. But Wema Bank has done more than simply endure; it has evolved, adapted, and led. With each passing decade, it has redefined what relevance means in Nigerian banking, proving that longevity and innovation can coexist. Today, Wema Bank is a rare breed: a heritage institution that feels young, energetic, and deeply attuned to the future.
Its transformation wasn’t a moment. It was a series of bold, visionary decisions made by leaders who understood that the bank’s best days could still lie ahead. Decisions grounded in culture, powered by technology, and driven by people willing to do the hard, unglamorous work of building something better. One of those people is Oluwole Ajimisinmi, now Deputy Managing Director of Wema Bank, and one of the few still standing from the original team that began reshaping the bank in 2009.
Before his title carried the weight of national business directorates, compliance oversight, and recovery portfolios, Ajimisinmi was a legal practitioner navigating a bold transition from Skye Bank. “I joined as Company Secretary and Legal Adviser,” he recalled. “Wema was in a complicated situation. So, a group of new investors took over, and I was part of that team. We resumed in June 2009.”
He met a system weighed down by inertia and neglect, a far cry from the vibrant, dynamic institution Wema Bank is today. The office environment was bleak, with outdated facilities and a workforce that had grown tired, both in spirit and in age. “My first day was quite eventful. The office had purple cubicles and poor lighting. It didn’t feel like a bank that was ready for the future. And then I saw someone making noodles with boiling rings in one of the offices. Coming from another bank, it was a shock.”
Yet, within that crumbling infrastructure lay the DNA of something worth saving. Despite the turbulence, some of the bank’s most loyal clients stayed on. Their continued faith served as a quiet but powerful endorsement. It signaled that the brand still carried weight, even in its lowest moments. It was proof that beneath the surface, Wema Bank still had trust, goodwill, and a legacy that could be rebuilt. “We had major clients like Toyota that stayed with us,” he said. “That was important. It meant people still believed in the brand.”
The bank’s new management team, which included Ajimisinmi, Segun Oloketuyi (who was MD/CEO from 2009 to 2018), Ademola Adebise (then Executive Director and later MD from 2018 to 2023), and Taiwo Adeniji (formerly Executive Director), knew there was no shortcut to renewal. The first step was to overhaul not just what the bank looked like, but what it stood for. That meant shedding its legacy image and reengineering everything from staff composition to customer perception. “Wema had to stop being your grandfather’s bank. It had to start being your go-to bank,” Ajimisinmi said.
The key to that rebirth was a generational shift in the workforce. In 2009, the average age of Wema Bank staff was over 48. Many were skilled but risk-averse, accustomed to analog processes in a rapidly digitizing world. The leadership made the difficult decision to rejuvenate the workforce; transitioning out older staff, attracting younger talent, and betting big on youth potential. “The average age of Wema’s staff in 2009 was 48 years. It was clear that we couldn’t drive change if we had an aging workforce,” Ajimisinmi said. “We went through a process with management and HR who helped us go through it. We started infusing younger staff into the bank. And as time went on, we also had a way of weeding people out. It was a very painful process.” That call paid off. The average staff age is now under 30, and that youth-driven culture fuels Wema’s forward momentum.
But youth alone wasn’t enough. To match the mindset shift, the bank needed an operational revolution. Ajimisinmi shared, “We had to do a lot of work, starting with the core banking application. The policies and processes were very archaic. So, we had to do a re-engineering process. That helped us define new processes and policies that Wema is running on today.” The re-engineering sparked a full-scale process overhaul, from compliance to service delivery. The leadership established a Program Management Office (PMO) that became instrumental, serving as the coordination hub for modernizing policies, processes, and infrastructure across the bank. Archaic legacy systems gave way to streamlined operations and scalable platforms that could support the bank’s ambitions.
The turning point came with the launch of ALAT, Nigeria’s first fully digital bank, in 2017. ALAT didn’t just introduce a new product. It changed the perception of the entire institution. “Nobody believed that we could revolutionize the banking industry through the introduction of digital,” Ajimisinmi recalled with a smile. “ALAT changed the bank’s profile. The introduction of ALAT wiped away all the old narratives about Wema being old, aged, or archaic.” ALAT marked Wema’s coming-of-age in digital banking, but more importantly, it symbolized the bank’s capacity for reinvention. Not just once, but consistently.
That spirit of reinvention continues. As the bank marks 80 years, it’s preparing to launch for an experience built on everything they’ve learned so far, with a promise to “wow the industry” once again. Wema also recently introduced ALAT Xplore, a platform for teenagers and young adults to begin their financial journeys early. These moves aren’t just about new markets, they’re about future-proofing the institution, one digital step at a time.
Still, all the innovation in the world means little without a culture to support it. That’s why the leadership invested heavily in cultural transformation. In 2020, Wema Bank established its Corporate University, Purple Academy, and strengthened its Learning and Development team to focus on training and empowering its staff. They ensured that KPIs, scorecards, and clear accountability were built into the process. Over the years, the academy has helped to raise performance across the board and was recently shortlisted for the 2025 Global CCU Awards. “We made performance a language,” Ajimisinmi said. “Everybody began to understand that we’re here to deliver results, not just show up.” That shared purpose created a new rhythm inside the bank – a rhythm built around excellence, ownership, and impact.
Looking back, Ajimisinmi doesn’t talk about personal accolades. He talks about pride; pride in what the bank has become, pride in being part of something bigger. “There’s a sense of fulfillment knowing that Wema didn’t die on our heads,” he said. “What we met was tough. But what we’ve built is resilient, dynamic, and ready for the next 80 years.”
Wema’s financial trajectory tells the rest of the story. In 2009, when Ajimisinmi joined, the bank had a N66 billion negative capital and a N37 billion overdrawn account with the Central Bank of Nigeria. By 2024, the bank had grown to the point where it recorded N102 billion profit before tax, a 133.84 per cent increase on the previous year. This was not a spike, but a steady, strategic climb built over years of discipline and daring. That kind of growth doesn’t happen because of luck or even ambition. It happens because of leadership that sees further than today.
And for all their bold decisions, the biggest one might have been this: to believe. To believe that a legacy brand could change its story. To believe that young people could lead. To believe that innovation could live inside an 80-year-old institution. “It was never just about the money,” Ajimisinmi said. “It was about the legacy. Wema was midwifed from the Southwest. Generations have sacrificed for this bank. So when you’re called to serve it, you don’t just show up. You give it everything.”
That’s the rebirth code. Quiet resilience. Loud results. And a future that’s already unfolding from the inside out.
