UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced that the winners of the 2025 edition of the annual National Essay Competition (NEC) will receive educational grants worth over N22.5 million to study at any African university of their choice.
This year, the first-prize winner will receive N10 million university grant, which represents a substantial 33% increase up from the N7.5 million awarded last year. The second and third-place winners will each receive N7.5 million and N5 million educational grants, respectively, up from the N5 million and N3.5 million awarded last year.
Apart from the cash prizes, the writers of the 12 best essays will go home with brand-new laptops and other educational tools to help them prepare towards their tertiary research work and other studies.
The NEC is part of UBA Foundation’s education initiative, which is aimed at promoting literacy and encouraging healthy intellectual competition amongst senior secondary school students in Nigeria and across the African continent.
The students are required to research on and write on the essay topic: “Nigeria is characterised by diverse cultures, ethnicities, and religions. How can young Nigerians deploy diversity to build a united nation?”
The Managing Director/CEO, UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, who spoke on the opportunities the competition offers to students, emphasised why the foundation has continues to invest in the initiative.
“The deliberate and significant increase in the value of these educational grants underscores our dedication to investing in academic excellence and alleviating the financial burden of higher education for Nigerian students and their families. We are confident that this will further inspire a culture of academic achievement and critical thinking,” she explained.
According to her, “UBA Foundation remains deeply committed to creating impactful opportunities for the youth, who are the future of our continent”
To be eligible, participants must be Nigerian students in senior secondary school and are required to submit scanned copies of their handwritten essays (not more than 750 words), a recent passport photograph, and a copy of their birth certificate, National ID, or international passport via the dedicated portal on the UBA Foundation’s official website.
The deadline for submission of entries is Friday, October 17th, 2025, and applications can be accessed and submitted through the Foundation’s official website ubagroup.com/uba-foundation/national-essay-competition/, or by scanning the QR code available on the posters and websites.
UBA Foundation is the corporate social responsibility arm of the United Bank for Africa Plc, charged with the mission to improve the socio-economic development of communities across the African continent. The Foundation’s activities focus on development-driven interventions in the areas of Education, Environment, and Economic Empowerment and special projects.