By Francis Ajuonuma
United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has graduated and inducted 374 young professionals into its workforce, strengthening its leadership pipeline across Africa.
The graduates, drawn from Nigeria and seven other African countries where the bank operates, are members of Cohort 21 of UBA’s Graduate Management Accelerator Programme (GMAP), the bank’s flagship talent development initiative.
The graduation ceremony, held at the Landmark Events Centre in Lagos on Thursday, celebrated young professionals who completed the programme designed to equip them with banking, leadership and professional skills.
The latest cohort comprises 223 women and 151 men, with 345 graduates from UBA Nigeria and 29 from the bank’s subsidiaries in Guinea, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Uganda, Zambia and Côte d’Ivoire.
Since its inception, the GMAP programme has produced more than 5,000 young professionals, providing participants with mentorship, training and practical experience to prepare them for careers within the banking industry.
Speaking at the ceremony, UBA Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu, challenged the graduates to recognise customer service as a critical competitive advantage as technology continues to make banking products increasingly similar.
Elumelu said technological advancement alone would not distinguish financial institutions, stressing that the quality of service delivered to customers would remain a key differentiator.
“Products can be commoditised, but service never can, because there is always a differentiator in how you serve and how you create,” he said.
He said the future leadership of the bank depended on the quality, discipline and commitment of the young professionals being inducted into its workforce.
“As future leaders of UBA, people like you give me confidence that if we hand over to your generation, UBA will be safe,” Elumelu said.
He urged the graduates to sustain their passion and commit themselves to hard work, discipline and excellence as they progress in their careers.
UBA Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, described the graduation as the beginning of the graduates’ professional responsibilities rather than the conclusion of their development journey.
Alawuba said the new professionals had come from different countries and backgrounds but were now united by the values and ambitions of the UBA Group.
“You came from different countries, with different experiences and disciplines, but today you have graduated as one UBA family, united by one ambition, to build Africa’s future,” he said.
He urged the graduates to approach every assignment with commitment, regardless of their preferred postings or positions within the organisation.
“Your first posting may not be your preferred destination, but make it your platform and give it your best,” Alawuba said.
He charged them to adapt quickly to changes in the business environment, protect their integrity and turn their potential into measurable performance.
The CEO linked the expectations to UBA’s core values of excellence, enterprise and execution, urging the new professionals to carry the bank’s standards into their various postings.
The bank said the GMAP remained central to its strategy of developing young talent and preparing a new generation of professionals for leadership responsibilities across its African operations.
