UBA’s National Essay Competition just wrapped up its 2025 edition, and it’s interesting to observe how these corporate social responsibility initiatives evolve. A Lagos student, Seth Ebunoluwa, took home the top prize – a N10 million educational grant. Good for him.

It’s worth noting that UBA bumped up the first-place grant. This action signals a deeper investment in human capital development, which is the kind of long-term thinking Africa certainly needs. We saw over 120,000 entries across Nigeria, indicating a serious appetite for academic competition. This year’s competition also saw increased participation from both rural and urban areas. This expansion suggests the program is getting better at reaching a wider range of students.

UBA is also expanding its essay contest footprint, taking it to Ghana and Senegal. The goal is to hit 10-15 African countries by 2026. That’s ambitious. Corporate initiatives like this, especially those that support education and literacy, clearly have a role to play. Let’s hope they translate into tangible improvements in education across the continent. It seems, with UBA, that’s what they hope to achieve.

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Keywords: UBA essay competition, national essay competition, educational grant, Seth Ebunoluwa, UBA CSR, Africa education, literacy programs, UBA Ghana Senegal