The United Bank for Africa (Ghana) has launched the seventh edition of the UBA National Essay Competition aimed at funding Senior High School (SHS) students in any University of choice in Africa.
The UBA Foundation National Essay Competition (NEC) which was launched in 2014 in Ghana has provided a competitive platform to develop the intellectual and writing abilities of SHS students in Ghana, and other African Countries where UBA operates and granting winners scholarships to study in any University in Africa.
The competition in Ghana has so far produced over 18 winners currently studying in various universities in the country.
The seventh edition promises to be more intriguing as it’s expected to witness an increase in the number of participants to over 5,000.
The participating students will battle it out in the essay writing competition on the captivating topic: “You have been given the opportunity to speak at the U.N general assembly meeting in New York on the challenges facing education of the African Youth in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Write your speech,” unveiled at the launch.
Speaking at the launch, UBA Ghana MD/CEO, Olalekan Balogun said: “UBA is very committed to the area of education of the African in a bid to transform the continent and achieve Africapitalism as espoused by our Chairman Mr Tony Elumelu.”
Mr Elumelu’s Africapitalism concept believes in using African resources to develop Africa and chief among them is the human resources.
Mr Balogun also noted the essay competition forms part of UBA’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives to support the educational sector in Ghana.
He continued that the UBA believes in the future of Africa’s youth and had therefore instituted a number of interventions in education to secure the future of the continent saying, “We believe that giving back to the society through education can impact everybody and help the continent grow.”
Despite of the challenges brought about by the COVID, UBA Ghana has kept the winning prizes of the essay competition at $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 to assist the first, second and third place student attend any University of their choice in Africa.
Applicants can now submit entries through an online submission portal which is www.ubaghana.com/nationalessaycompetition2020.