Duplo, the Lagos based financial operations startup, is changing how it gets its software into the hands of Nigerian businesses. Instead of relying only on direct sales, the company is now leaning on banks to do the distribution work for it. This shift starts with a new partnership with Wema Bank.
Under the deal, Duplo’s tools are being built directly into ALAT for Business. This is Wema’s digital banking platform for corporate customers. Businesses using ALAT will be able to automate invoicing, approve expenses, and pay vendors. They can also collect payments and reconcile transactions, all without leaving the bank’s platform. On top of that, Wema is giving existing ALAT Business customers three months of free access. This gives them a chance to try the tools before deciding whether to pay for them long term.
The logic behind this move is simple. Selling software directly to thousands of small and medium businesses, one at a time, is slow and expensive. Banks already have that distribution built in. They have existing relationships, trust, and a customer base that fintech startups spend years trying to build from scratch. So by plugging into a bank’s platform, Duplo gets access to Wema’s corporate customers instantly. It no longer has to convince each business individually that its product is worth adopting.
For Wema Bank, the appeal runs in a similar direction. Banking alone no longer guarantees customer loyalty the way it used to. Businesses that keep more of their financial operations inside one banking ecosystem are harder to lose to a competitor. That includes not just their accounts, but their invoicing, payments, and reconciliation too. As a result, that stickiness translates into more fee income and a stronger long term relationship with corporate clients. It also lets Wema offer software capabilities without building all of it in house, since Duplo already specializes in that layer of financial operations.
CHECK OUT:Flutterwave Strikes PayPal Deal as Nigeria’s Digital Minister Joins Elite Global AI Commission
Remi Ogunsanya, head of product at Duplo, said the platform was built to solve a common problem. Many Nigerian businesses have limited visibility into their own finances. Finance teams often juggle spreadsheets, email threads, banking portals, and separate accounting software just to track their cash flow. This fragmentation creates delays and errors. It also creates blind spots that slow decision making, especially for small and mid sized companies without the resources to build custom financial infrastructure.
This is not an isolated move either. Wema Bank has been positioning itself as an active player in Nigeria’s fintech ecosystem beyond traditional lending. That includes backing startups directly and integrating third party tools into its digital platforms. More broadly, Nigerian banks appear to be shifting focus. They are moving beyond loan books and transaction fees toward owning more of the software layer that businesses depend on every day. If that trend continues, embedding fintech products into banking platforms could become a common way for startups like Duplo to reach customers, rather than competing with banks for the same market.
Still, whether this approach becomes the standard playbook depends on adoption. Free trial periods are good at generating signups. But they don’t guarantee businesses stick around once the free period ends and pricing kicks in. For now, the Wema Bank and Duplo partnership is a bet. It bets that businesses would rather manage their finances in one place than juggle separate tools. And it bets that banks are a faster route to reaching those businesses than building a sales team from scratch.
