Nigeria-based Wema Bank is considering a merger with another commercial bank or acquisition of a fintech firm to expand its footprint and customer base.

“Inorganic growth is one of the pillars of our growth. We are looking at all options,” Wema Bank’s deputy managing director Moruf Oseni was quoted by Reuters as saying.

“No matter how efficient we are … scale is key” he said while speaking at investors/analysts presentation.

Oseni said: “An M&A is not off the table. It could be with another Nigerian bank, it could be with a fintech or it could be acquiring another fintech firm.”

The prospect of acquisition is not limited to the financial sector industry, the report added.

The lender also announced plans to offload shares worth $97m to shareholders in September, which is subject to regulatory approval.

The rights issue is aimed at boosting lender’s equity capital.

The report added that the lender is targeting a pretax profit of $21m in 2021, which was $16.69m in 2020.

The lender noted that the transaction count on its platform recorded a growth of 34.7% in the first half.

Founded in 1945, Wema Bank received its national banking license from the Central Bank of Nigeria in 2015 and has been focusing on its digital strategy since then.

Last week, Nigerian digital banking start-up Kuda Bank raised $50m in a Series B funding round to expand into other African countries.