Wema Bank lit up Lagos Friday at Hackaholics 6.0 grand finale, handing out N120 million in grants to nine youth-led tech teams tackling Nigeria’s big headaches—from food vendor efficiency to AI fraud busters—proving the bank’s all-in on turning student innovators into economic game-changers after sifting 11,000 apps nationwide.
MD Moruf Oseni, via CIO Adeoluwa Akomolafe, hailed the eight-decade legacy of disruption-proofing as Nigeria’s oldest indigenous bank, framing Hackaholics as a youth empowerment engine beyond CSR—fueling STEM brains with cash, smarts and platforms since 2019’s $300k+ rollout, including N75m to women-led squads in ’23-’24.
Chao snagged N25m Ideathon gold for streamlining food ops, VOC AI grabbed Hackathon top dog prize, with runners like Varsity Scape (N20m), Farmslate (N15m) and Illumitrust (N15m) close behind—ED Tunde Mabawonku urging Africa to flip local pains into global unicorn wins via AI and real-world tech.
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