Environment
UBA Foundation has been very active in the environmental sector, focusing on waste management and beautification projects. Project “Cleaning Up” which has already commenced provides waste management services to chosen areas in collaboration with LAWMA and the Ministry of Environment.
It commenced with certain hotspots in Lagos: maintenance of the surroundings of Eko Bridge down to UBA Head Office (UBA House); UBA House Garden; funds have also been provided by UBAF to clean up and develop the Allen Avenue Roundabout Garden and reconstruction of Marina Roundabout Garden (completion Q3/Q4 2007).
Projects were initiated in Lagos but are planned to be rolled out nationally. As part of the “Cleaning Up” scheme, UBAF commissioned mammoth rubbish bins for distribution around the Lagos area.
Economic Empowerment
As part of our efforts towards the economic empowerment of the Nation’s restive youth arising out of unemployment, UBA Foundation reached out to “area boys” within the Marina area. In principle a component of UBAF Environment focus area’s “Cleaning Up” project though also overlapping with UBAF’s economic empowerment focus area, is the “UBA Foundation Cleaners” programme. Under the programme, UBAF engaged some of these former unemployed to provide cleaning, gardening and other maintenance services around the UBA House Garden on a contractual basis. To date, UBAF has committed more than N1 million since incorporation in April 2006.
The primary focus under the UBAF Economic Empowerment area is deployment of micro-credit to local entrepreneurs, small scale factories, cottage industries etc. who historically may have found it difficult to access funding through traditional channels. Our overall aim is to provide sustainable improvements to the lives of the needy and under-privileged. UBA Foundation is concluding arrangements with technical partners also from the ‘not-for-profit arena” to finalise its Economic Empowerment plans to be launched later in the year.
Education
UBAF recently partnered with Phillips Consulting and MTN to set up the “afroscholars.com” web portal. The web portal will provide students and young professionals who wish to further their education or advance their careers, with information on international/national scholarships available to Africans, admission procedures and employment opportunities. A total of N17.6million was dedicated to the Afroscholars project in 2006.
The main thrust under the Education focus area is the provision of annual tertiary scholarships. Full tertiary scholarships are provided to 108 students each year. Three students are chosen from each state of Nigeria following rigorous review to enable selection of the brightest and academically most gifted students. A number of the UBA Foundation scholars will be offered employment with UBA Group upon successful completion of their tertiary education.
