Executive Director, Finance, Ugo Nwaghodoh; Group Chairman, United Bank for Africa, Tony Elumelu; Group Managing Director, UBA, Oliver Alawuba; Executive Director/Deputy Managing Director, Chukwuma Nweke and Executive Director, Personal and Business Banking, Chidi Okpala, flanked by graduands of the 2026 Graduate Management Accelerated Programme(GMAP), at ceremony held for over 700 trainees in Lagos, yesterday.
•Equips 700 young professionals
Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has reinforced its commitment towards tackling youth unemployment across the continent with the employment of over 700 young professionals under its Graduate Management Acceleration Programme (GMAP).
Since inception, the bank’s GMAP initiative has empowered more than 5,000 young graduates across Africa, providing them with world-class training, hands-on experience, and a platform to thrive in the financial services industry.
The graduation ceremony, which was held in Lagos on Thursday, was led by the UBA’s top management, faculty members, mentors, and the graduating class, as it highlighted the culmination of an intensive journey towards leadership excellence.
While welcoming and addressing the fresh intake, UBA’s Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, reiterated the importance of ambition, discipline, and institutional pride, describing the gathering as living proof that Africa’s future belongs to its youth.
“The future of Africa belongs to our youth, and as I see all of you, I see that in action. Welcome to UBA Group. Congratulations on being part of our family,” he stated.
Elumelu challenged the graduates, to take ownership of their performance and to exhibit the discipline that distinguishes great institutions from average ones.
“Selecting the right people, training them, developing them, nurturing them, and getting them to align with the vision is not easy. But it is critical for sustained success. What we must do is institutionalise our approach, to build an organisation that can deliver and create systems that endure, so that perpetuity is achieved,” Elumelu said.
The induction, which welcomed Cohorts 19 and 20 into the bank’s workforce, underscores the bank’s focus on nurturing Africa’s next generation of high-performing talent equipped to drive innovation and sustainable growth.
Group Managing Director/CEO, Oliver Alawuba, who went down memory lane, took the youth on his personal journey from a young professional to Group CEO, and reminded the graduates that the path from entry-level to leadership is not reserved for a privileged few.
“Our young Africans are equipped to drive Africa into excellence. Your current role is not your final destination. If we could rise, you can rise too, because the journey is not reserved for a special class of people. It is reserved for people who decide to grow and then do the work,” he said
Alawuba anchored his address in UBA’s corporate ethos, the 3Es of ‘Excellence, Enterprise, and Execution’, and the SRG persona of Simplicity, Responsiveness, and Goal-orientation, challenging each new hire to make these values visible in their daily conduct.
The cohort of 720 trainees has 435 women and accounts for over 60% of the intake. This stands as a testament to the bank’s commitment towards women’s empowerment.
UBA continues to position itself as a leading institution in youth development, intentionally grooming “achievers who perform” while contributing meaningfully to reducing unemployment and unlocking the immense potential of Africa’s youthful population.
United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group-wide and serving over 45 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting-edge technology.
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