By Stephen Ubanna
The United Bank for Africa, popular, Pan African Bank and Nigeria’s foremost Money Deposit Bank Money Deposit Bank, MDB, which had made a mark both within and outside the African Continent has set the set the state for competitors and other blue-chip companies to follow.
The foremost Nigerian bank with over 250,000 employee group world -wide serving the interest of forty-five million customers across 1,00 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries and with presence in the North American country of the United States, USA, United Kingdom, UK, France and the United Arab Emirate, UAE, appears to have moved a step further, the banking is still making moves to expand its operations and open more customer touch points in other countries.
This time around the foremost Nigerian MDB, which could raise N239.4 billion, through the issuance of new ordinary shares to its shareholders to further strengthen its financial capacity to take advantage of growth opportunities and sustain its Leadership on the nation’s banking industry had moved to invest on 3,200 Nigerian Young Professionals, described as the nation’s Banking industry future Leaders.
Tony Elumelu, a multi-billionaire business mogul and investor , who incidental is the Chairman of UBA and other blue chip companies across the country both in the energy, oil and gas sectors of the economy, which are capital-intensive had said that the bank will continue to make significant impact in berthing the next generation of banking and finance professionals in the African Continent to compete with their contemporaries in Europe and other parts of the world through ‘’its Graduate Management Acceleration Programme, GMAP.
The GMAP, he had said has produced 3,222 young professionals across the African Continent alone. He noted that since its inception some three years ago, the GMAP programme has been designed’’ to equip entrants with the necessary skills and knowledge’’ just as’’ it has provided the mentorship, training, and hands-on-experience to the young graduates for Leadership roles in UBA’’.
On Wednesday, March 6, 2025, according to a report from the bank Corporate Affairs and Strategic Department, had organized a ceremony at the Landmark Event Centre in Lagos, the nation’s commercial nerve centre to induct another set of 1,138 successful graduates who were said to have been absorbed by the Bank .
Described as an intensive training spanning several months of rigorous learning, testing the entrants’ dedication and resilience, Elumelu, the bank Chairman, who was said to have addressed the new GMAP graduates could not hide his feelings had expressed his excitement, expressing ‘’the bank’s passion for youth empowerment in the African Continent while bridging the unemployment gap, which he had said ‘’remains one of the greatest challenges in the Continent’’.
He was emphatic that at the UBA, the Board and the Management Team, believes that African’s transformation is in the hands of the young, dynamic and ambitious professionals like the new GMAP , graduates.
He noted that the GMAP programme the bank is not only shaping future Leaders for the nation’s banking industry but also ‘’enforcing its commitment to excellence and impact’’. An elated Elumelu, who was said to beaming with smiles had a word of advice for the GMAP new set of graduates: Rember that success is built on hard work, resilience and commitment to continuous learning, noting that ‘’the world is waiting for them to make their own mark.
Oliver Alawuba, the bank’s Group Managing Director, GMD, in his remarks was said to have expressed his pride over the new set of GMAP graduates, reiterating the bank’s ‘’unwavering commitment to human capital development’’.
The GMD, who had opined that ‘’this moment marks the beginning of a transformational journey that will shape their careers in future in the nation’s banking industry, was said to have made them understand that their contributions to society and Africa at large will guide their future.
Giving an insider information, he had asserted that theGMAP, bear eloquent testimony to the bank’s vision of empowering the highest minds with the necessary skills, knowledge and mind-set required ‘’ to navigate the evolving nation’s financial landscape’’.
He was said to have pointed out ‘’the bank’s commitment to gender diversity and inclusion’’, highlighting that out of the fresh 1,138, new GMAP graduates, 666, representing 58% are women, a reflection of the bank’s dedication to fostering an equitable and inclusive workplace.
Encouraging the new GMAP graduates, the UBA GMD, was said to have charged them ‘’to uphold the bank’s core values of excellence, enterprise and execution while embracing its persona of Simplicity, Responsiveness and Goal-oriented, SRG.
The event, was said to have ended on a happy note as there were inspiring testimonies from graduates of the GMAP, in the past who were said to have made significant strides within the bank, which currently provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services in its arears of operations in Nigeria and other African countries including the US, UK, France and UAE.
As a solid financial institution may have informed why competitors could attest that UBA is still the country’s leading financial inclusion, implementing cutting -edge technology. The bank according to an insider was said to have taken advantage of its rights 239.4 issue to further invest in additional digital technologies that will strengthen its over seven and half years of impressive performance.
The new investments in Information, Communication and Technology, ICT, The Value News, online Magazine had been informed bankers would further strengthen the bank’s digitization and operational efficiency, thus fostering improving coordination and synchronization among its various entities and delivering improved services to customers the world-over.
This may have informed why the bank had strengthened collaboration and partnership with ELCOS and FinTech to drive technology -enabled initiatives across the African Continent that will improve intra-trade, remittances and payments across the Continent.
It was not surprising why the bank over the years have continued to provide the enabling environment to empower business, enhance cross-border transactions and drive regional economic growth and integration, making the leading and dominant financial services institution in the African Continent supporting regional development and prosperity. Vintage UBA.
