Banking Tycoon Invests in New $500 Million University in Nigeria

Wigwe to lure tycoons including Dangote to mentor students

University targets to enroll 10,000 students in five years

Herbert Wigwe, co-founder of Nigeria’s biggest bank by assets, Access Bank, is investing in a new $500 million university to help build skills needed for the finance and technology industries in Africa’s most-populous nation.

Wigwe University will begin admitting students for undergraduate courses next year, Wigwe, chief executive officer for Access Holdings Plc, said in an interview in Lagos. The scholars will be able to chose management, science and engineering, information technology and creative arts courses. 

The institution will need as much as $500 million to scale up in five years, he said.