Union Bank of Nigeria has emphasised its commitment to supporting homegrown businesses with its sponsorship of the RISE Business Challenge winners with different cash prizes.
In its sixth edition, the annual Youth Leadership Conference, which took place at the University of Lagos, Akoka, saw the top three winners go home with cash prizes of N1 million, N750,000 and N250,000 for the first, second and third place winners respectively.
The sponsorship made under the bank’s Made-In-Naija initiative, was targeted at uplifting young men and women with requisite entrepreneurial skills.
Dubbed Turning Point 6.0, the Resilience, Innovation, Social Responsibility, and Entrepreneurship (RISE) Challenge, the initiative is a collaboration between Union Bank and the conference convener, Mr Olusegun Odufuwa, to empower youth-led businesses with financial and mentorship support through a pitch competition.
The event aligned with one of the bank’s primary objectives of encouraging Made in Nigeria and the next generation of Nigerian innovators and business leaders, culminating in positive social impact and sustainable economic growth.
The competition also aimed to identify and reward outstanding business ideas demonstrating viability, sustainability, and social impact.
The bank said in a statement that this year’s RISE Challenge winners were chosen after a rigorous selection process involving participants sending their proposals for a team of judges and business experts to assess.
The bank explained that final four selected competitors then pitched their ideas individually to a panel of judges, who chose the winners based on innovation, social impact, sustainability, and financial viability.
Speaking at the event, Ayokunumi Abraham, Head of SME at Union Bank of Nigeria, said: “Union Bank is passionate about supporting Made In Naija and youth-led businesses to scale for sustainable growth. We believe this will not only boost and nurture upcoming enterprises but also create a positive ripple effect that will drive employment, innovation, economic opportunity, and access that will empower small and medium businesses across the length and breadth of the country.”
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