The UBA Foundation, the corporate social responsibility arm of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced a substantial increase in the total prize value for its 2025 National Essay Competition (NEC), offering educational grants worth over N22.5 million to winning students.

The annual competition, which aims to promote literacy and encourage healthy intellectual engagement among senior secondary school students across Nigeria, will see the first-prize winner receive a university grant of N10 million, a 33 percent increase from the N7.5 million awarded last year.

The second and third-place winners will each receive N7.5 million and N5 million respectively, also representing significant increases from the N5 million and N3.5 million previously awarded.

In addition to the cash prizes, the top 12 finalists will each receive brand-new laptops and other educational materials to support their tertiary education and research work.

Announcing the new incentives, the Managing Director/CEO of UBA Foundation, Bola Atta, said the increase in the value of educational grants reflects the Foundation’s long-term commitment to supporting academic excellence and reducing the financial burden of higher education for Nigerian families.

“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,” Atta stated. “We are confident that this will further inspire a culture of academic achievement and critical thinking.”

She reiterated that the Foundation remains committed to creating impactful opportunities for young Africans, describing them as “the future of our continent.”

For the 2025 edition, students are expected to write on the topic: “Nigeria is characterised by diverse cultures, ethnicities, and religions. How can young Nigerians deploy diversity to build a united nation?”

To participate, applicants must be Nigerian students in senior secondary school. Entries must include scanned handwritten essays (not exceeding 750 words), a recent passport photograph, and a copy of the student’s birth certificate, national ID, or international passport.

Submissions are to be made through the UBA Foundation’s dedicated portal at www.ubagroup.com/uba-foundation/national-essay-competition/ or by scanning the QR code available on promotional materials.

The deadline for submission of entries is Friday, October 17, 2025.

The UBA Foundations' initiatives are built around three focus areas – Education, Environment, and Economic Empowerment – through which it drives sustainable community development across the African continent.