At the recently finished 10th anniversary of the Marketing Edge brands and advertising excellence awards, which was held in Lagos, the United Bank for Africa Foundation was acknowledged as a pioneer in corporate social responsibility.
The UBA Foundation’s very effective projects, including the annual National Essay Competition, Read Africa, Each Teach One, and the Food Bank, among others, are cascaded across the African continent each year to reach more people.
Hundreds of African students have received funds through its National Essay Competition, which was established more than nine years ago, to study at postsecondary institutions in Africa, and the benefits are being felt in their communities as more kids get the chance to attend college.
Bola Atta, the CEO of the UBA Foundation, commented on the leadership award given to the organization.
There is a lot of work to be done across the African continent to improve lives and we are doing this one step at a time and in different countries across the geography where the United Bank for Africa operates. It is fundamental for people and organisations to give back. It is also very African to nurture one’s communities and uplift others around you. So we do what we do with a lot of passion and focus on developing and nurturing’.
Atta emphasized the National Essay Competition as one of the Foundation’s major projects and praised the Marketing Edge award for excellence organizers for the accolade, saying
“it is good to know we are doing it right and to be reminded that we must do even more. One of my favourite initiatives at the Foundation is the National Essay Competition because I have seen first – hand, how it changes lives. The award we are receiving is for all the children across Africa who are aspiring for a better life.’
“With the start of a new academic year, the 2022 edition of the National Essay Competition has commenced and we are increasing the prizes by as much as 40%. The first prize winner will now receive an educational grant of N5 million to study at any African university of their choice, whilst the second and third prizes now stand at N3 million and N2.5 million respectively. This takes into consideration, the rising cost of living. We want our students to study well, worry free, so that they may excel’ she ended.
Managing Director and Publisher of Marketing Edge, John Ajayi, lauded the UBA Foundation for its significant impact across Africa. Through its Read Africa Initiative and the scholarship grants the Foundation has consistently done exceptionally well to transform the lives of many on the continent of Africa’. These initiatives are truly impactful he stated.
Ajayi added that the awards were created in response to the need to recognize exceptional Game Changers whose unwavering support has inspired sustainable development while simultaneously giving hope to Africa.
“These organisation clearly understand that agility, innovation, flexibility, decisiveness and commitment needed to accelerate the pace of change Africa craves for”.
Dignitaries and business executives from many Nigerian industries attended the awards ceremonies.
