On May 13, 1909, the West African Bank Corporation was established in Lagos, Nigeria, becoming one of the earliest African-owned financial institutions. Founded by African entrepreneurs seeking to break free from colonial financial dependence, the bank provided capital and credit to African businesses often denied support by European banks. Though small in scale, the bank’s formation was a powerful economic act of resistance and a model of self-determination. It helped fund early African enterprises and inspired later efforts at economic nationalism across the continent. May 13, 1909, is remembered in West African financial history as a bold move toward economic sovereignty in a colonial world.
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