Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, yesterday held the maiden edition of its expanded Graduate Management Accelerated Programme(GMAP) where over 700 graduates were inducted into the UBA Tribe after a rigorous 6-month hands-on and learning experience.

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s (CIBN) accredited programme adopted from the globally recognised Graduate Training Programme, is aimed at building the capacity of fresh graduates who are trained as professionals for accelerated career growth to leadership and key positions.

The graduands, from across its 19 African subsidiaries, completed an intense capacity-building programme, combining learning with on-the-job training experience, garnered while rotating across the bank departments and units.

The Chairman of UBA, Tony O. Elumelu, who spoke about the importance of prioritising human capital development, commended the robust programme that churned out bright and promising professionals, poised to take the bank to another level.

“It is important to develop platforms for people to grow. We would love to see our future CEOs from this programme and I hope that the enthusiasm, excitement, and energy I see and feel in this room today translate into the greatness we anticipate so that these young bright professionals can help take UBA to the next level,” Elumelu said.

“UBA is giving opportunities to young Africans, by addressing unemployment on the continent. Employment of these large numbers of young people at this time explains the role our Bank is playing in engineering growth and development across Africa,” he said.

Speaking at the event, Group Managing Director, Oliver Alawuba said that the Bank’s future is guaranteed considering the quality of the graduands produced and the commitment shown by participants over the course of the programme.

“I have observed, with pride, the dedication, resilience, and unwavering commitment shown by all participants of the GMAP programme, and I am delighted. The role of participants is pivotal in providing the much-needed resource required to make the participants of the programme successful as they kick-start their careers.”

“In UBA, we give everyone equal opportunity to achieve their dreams, irrespective of age, tribe, gender, and background. The transformation of our dear continent, Africa, is very important to our vision. To achieve this mandate, we need believers, doers, and agents of transformation”. Today, you have become an instrument that will transport our countries and continent to the new world order”, Alawuba said.

UBA is a leading pan-African financial institution, offering banking services to more than thirty-seven million customers across 1,000 business offices and customer touch points in 20 African countries.

With a presence in New York, London, Paris, the Cayman Islands, and now the UAE, UBA is connecting people and businesses across Africa through retail, commercial, and corporate banking, innovative cross-border payments and remittances, trade finance, and ancillary banking services.