UBA Inducts 720 Young Professionals, Tasks New Cohort To Drive Africa’s Banking Future

United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has inducted 720 graduates from Cohorts 19 and 20 of its Graduate Management Accelerated Programme (GMAP) into its workforce.

The Bank urged them to embrace discipline, resilience, and execution as they begin careers aimed at shaping Africa’s future.

Speaking yesterday in Lagos at the Bank Graduate Management Trainee Session ceremony, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UBA, Oliver Alawuba, described the programme as more than a training platform, calling it a deliberate strategy to build a sustainable leadership pipeline across the continent.

According to him, the latest intake, 306 from Cohort 19 and 414 from Cohort 20, brings the total number of GMAP-trained professionals to over 5,000, underscoring UBA’s long-term investment in human capital development.

Also, the Group chairman of UBA Group, Tony Elumelu shifted the focus beyond corporate success, urging the young professionals to see their careers as instruments for broader societal impact.

He stressed that true success lies not just in personal achievement but in the ability to contribute meaningfully to national and continental development.

He emphasised that leadership is fundamentally about managing people and aligning diverse aspirations toward a shared vision, adding that discipline and a strong value system are essential to building enduring organisations.

Drawing from his personal journey, the UBA chairman highlighted the importance of self-belief, hard work and sacrifice, recalling modest beginnings and the need for delayed gratification in pursuit of long-term success.

He urged the graduates to remain focused and consistent, stressing that performance, not connections, remains the most reliable path to recognition and growth.

The Group head of Human Resources, UBA, Katrina Akindele, explained that the selection process for the programme is highly competitive, attracting millions of applications and involving rigorous assessments, simulations and executive evaluations before candidates are admitted into a six-month intensive training programme.

She noted that the initiative is structured as a long-term leadership pipeline, with many of the graduates expected to rise to managerial and executive positions within a few years.

With the latest induction, UBA has reinforced its position as one of Africa’s leading talent developers, placing youth empowerment at the heart of its growth strategy while betting on a new generation to power the continent’s economic future.