Nigeria’s innovation landscape received a fresh boost on Thursday as Wema Bank unveiled ten promising startups selected for the 2026 edition of its Hackaholics Accelerator Programme, marking another milestone in the bank’s push to nurture the country’s fast-growing technology ecosystem.
The accelerator, a specialised growth initiative under the bank’s Hackaholics platform, is designed to help emerging startups strengthen their business models, refine their products and position themselves for sustainable expansion and investment opportunities.
With the programme now entering a more structured phase, the bank is moving beyond innovation competitions into hands-on startup development, offering founders access to mentorship, strategic advisory, and a broader ecosystem of partners.
At the centre of the initiative is ALAT, the continent’s first fully digital banking platform pioneered by Wema Bank, which has served as a foundation for the bank’s long-standing commitment to digital innovation and financial technology advancement.
The 2026 accelerator cohort features ten startups drawn from the top-performing finalists of Hackaholics 6.0. They include Farmslate, Ploy, Stocmed, Feest (Chao), Varsityscape, MamaAlert, Sane, Cyclex, Kieva and Loocomo, each offering solutions addressing challenges across sectors ranging from health and agriculture to logistics and digital services.
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Wema Bank, Moruf Oseni, said the programme reflects the bank’s strategic commitment to supporting entrepreneurs beyond the ideation stage.
According to him, the Hackaholics initiative has evolved over the past six years into a powerful platform that showcases the depth of innovation and entrepreneurial talent emerging across Nigeria.
Oseni explained that the accelerator seeks to help founders translate promising ideas into sustainable enterprises by refining business models, strengthening operational foundations and preparing startups for scale.
Also speaking, the bank’s Chief Transformation Officer, Babatunde Mumuni, noted that the selected startups already demonstrate early traction and strong market potential, making them suitable candidates for a structured growth programme.
Mumuni explained that participants would undergo intensive mentorship sessions, strategic advisory engagements and practical training designed to deepen market traction and position them for long-term expansion.
He added that the accelerator would be driven by a network of experts and industry leaders drawn from across Nigeria’s technology and venture ecosystem, providing founders with access to critical knowledge, partnerships and investment networks.
Facilitators for the programme include senior executives of Wema Bank alongside innovation leaders such as Idowu Akinde of Impact Hub Lagos, Napa Onwusa of B4B Partners, and startup mentors including Rosemond Phil-Othihiwa of Google for Startups.
The programme is further supported by the bank’s broader innovation framework, including IDEAx Labs, its venture and innovation platform focused on enabling startup growth through partnerships, infrastructure and capital access.
Since its launch in 2019, Hackaholics has emerged as one of Nigeria’s most influential youth innovation platforms, attracting more than 15,000 applicants and supporting hundreds of digital solutions across multiple sectors.
Through the initiative, Wema Bank has disbursed over $400,000 in funding to young innovators, with startups such as Feegor, Myitura and Bunce among previous participants that have benefited from the platform.
The bank said the second edition of the accelerator programme is expected to deepen that impact by helping startups transition decisively from promising innovation to scalable and investment-ready businesses.