No fewer than 578 young entrepreneurs across Nigeria have benefited from Unity Bank’s Corpreneurship Challenge, the bank’s flagship initiative designed to promote entrepreneurship, support startups, and drive youth-led economic growth nationwide.
Since its inception, the programme has empowered emerging business owners in multiple sectors to launch ventures, create jobs, and contribute to Nigeria’s economic growth.
In the latest edition, 30 new winners received a combined grant of ₦16 million during the Batch B, Stream II National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation course held across 10 states of the federation.
The beneficiaries — innovative young entrepreneurs in fashion design, bag making, pastry and beverage production, event management, and vegetable farming — emerged after pitching their business ideas at NYSC Orientation Camps in Lagos, Delta, Kaduna, Jigawa, Kwara, Benue, Abia, Kogi, Rivers, and Plateau States.
At the Lagos Orientation Camp in Ipaja, Fiyinfoluwa Titilayo Ojo, who pitched a soap-making business, clinched the overall prize of ₦800,000. Ndukwe Chiamaka Joan secured ₦500,000 as first runner-up for her small chops business proposal, while Barakat Modinat Olamide received ₦300,000 to expand her beverage-making enterprise.
Expressing her excitement, Ojo described the experience as “life-changing.”
“I’m truly grateful to Unity Bank for this opportunity. Winning the Corpreneurship Challenge has given me the confidence to scale my soap-making business. Beyond the grant, the process taught me how to structure my business and believe in its potential. It’s amazing to see a bank genuinely investing in young people’s dreams,” she said.
Across the remaining states, 27 other corps members also emerged winners after pitching diverse ideas ranging from fish and poultry farming to printing, piggery, and cake production.
Over the past six years, the Unity Bank Corpreneurship Challenge has become an integral part of the NYSC programme. It aligns with the Federal Government’s efforts to equip young graduates with entrepreneurial skills amid declining white-collar job opportunities. Each edition attracts thousands of applications from corps members whose business plans are assessed for originality, marketability, job creation potential, and overall feasibility.
Speaking at the grand finale in Lagos, Mrs. Adenike Abimbola, Unity Bank’s Divisional Head, Retail & SME, reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to empowering young Nigerians through enterprise.
“At Unity Bank, we believe the energy and creativity of Nigerian youth are key to the nation’s economic transformation. The Corpreneurship Challenge nurtures this potential by providing corps members with financial support, mentorship, and confidence to turn their ideas into thriving businesses. Seeing over 578 young entrepreneurs already impacted motivates us to deepen our investment in the SME ecosystem,” she stated.
The Corpreneurship Challenge has earned Unity Bank national recognition for promoting youth empowerment and job creation, drawing more than 2,000 applicants per edition.
Through its partnership with the NYSC Skill Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme, the initiative continues to serve as a launchpad for youth-owned enterprises, providing grants of up to ₦800,000 to help corps members transform their business dreams into reality.
