The UBA Foundation is a foundation founded by the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc which is committed to the socio-economic good of the people of Africa whose focus is on the development of strategic areas like the Environment, Education, Economic Empowerment and Special Projects.

The UBA is the largest and most profitable bank in West Africa and therefore, recognizes the need for a social contract between the bank, the environment and the people. As a result, the UBA is the first bank to establish a foundation through the Corporate Social Responsibility (CRS) arm of the bank. This, therefore, means that the United Bank for Africa, as a responsible bank, funds its projects.

The Focus Areas and Special Projects of the UBA Foundation

The special projects focus areas of the bank fall under the 3Es of Education, Environment and Economic Empowerment.

The UBA Foundation – Special Projects

As a bank committed to helping the communities and their people, the UBA Foundation, through its Social Responsibility Arm has completed the construction of a bridge for the students of Usman Dan Fodio University in Sokoto, Nigeria. This is one of the avenues for incorporating comfort in education.

The need for the bridge construction was borne out of the fact that for over four decades, the students of the Usman Dan Fodio University had found it difficult to be able to connect to the campus as a result of the impassability of the area, especially, during the rainy season.

The completion of the bridge construction which took place in January 2020 was valued at about 13 million naira, and commissioned by the Executive Governor of Sokoto State, Governor Aminu Tambuwal. It was a huge success.

Social and Economic Development

The UBA Foundation believes in the intervention and building of capacity within the community. The foundation, in addition, acts as a catalyst to social and economic development through its efforts in facilitating projects.

Evidence of this is the donation of a Braille Machine to a secondary school student. This is, in addition to the improvement of the adverse living condition of the people.

Environment

The UBA Foundation, in an effort to fulfill its pledge to commit to improving the environment and promoting sustainable development, joined a group of elite financial institutions who signed on to the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Statement. The foundation maintains three gardens across Nigeria.

Furthermore, the foundation is committed to creating employment opportunities for 36 youths on a yearly basis and it has consistently been achieved over a five-year period. Most of the staff of the bank are not left out, as they sponsor their own education through the income they earn and the flexibility of their work schedule.

Education

To fulfill its commitment to quality education, the UBA Foundation has established some initiatives called ‘Read Africa’ and ‘National Essay Competition’ which are aimed at rekindling the dwindling reading culture among African youths and stimulating the quest for sound knowledge and arming educational institutions with the right resources to support and meet their numerous needs.

Also, the UBA Foundation has donated a fully equipped modern ICT Laboratory to the students of Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo state. This is to help in equipping the students with modern facilities that will help them measure up to the modern standards of education. The construction was supervised by Mr. Tony Elumelu, the Chairman of UBA Plc.

The UBA Foundation Empowerment Programmes

The UBA Foundation, in a bid to help as many people as possible gain and make sustainable improvements in their lives, supports entrepreneurship programmes that benefit the community at large and has established several skills acquisition and empowerment conferences, seminars and workshops to this effect.

Two outstanding projects carried out by the foundation include:

• Part-sponsorship of the Seventh Annual Celebrations and Entrepreneurial Awards of Fate Foundation, a private sector led non-profit initiative whose vision is to foster and establish 5000 businesses and the creation of jobs for at least 50,000 Nigerians.
• Partnership with the Initiative for Peace Empowerment and Tolerance (IPET) to hold economic empowerment projects and workshops. This involves the training and equipping of traders with skills, thereby, raising their standard of living.

The UBA Foundation National Essay Competition

The UBA Foundation National Essay Competition is an annual competition targeted at senior secondary school students in Nigeria. It is aimed at promoting the reading culture of and encouraging healthy intellectual competition among senior secondary schools in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

The Benefit of the Competition

There are numerous prizes to win at the competition in the form of educational grants to study at any university of the winner’s choice on the African continent. Besides, the first prize for the competition is ₦2 million, the second prize is ₦1.5 million and the third prize is ₦1 million.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicant must be a Nigerian.
• Applicant must be in senior secondary school.
• Applicant must write and submit an essay, based on its topic.

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