UBA deepens six-decade UNILAG partnership with new innovation hub, research funding

By Josiah Nkemakolam

One of Nigeria’s longest-running and most successful university-industry collaborations reached a new milestone in 2026 as the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and the University of Lagos (UNILAG) celebrated six decades of partnership with the commissioning of a new Innovation Hub and Business Office and an enhancement of academic funding support.

The relationship, which began in 1965, has evolved from a pioneering campus banking initiative into a broad-based collaboration spanning research, innovation, student development, and infrastructure.

The partnership traces its roots to 1965, just three years after UNILAG opened its doors, when UBA established a banking branch on the university campus. The move is widely regarded as Nigeria’s first university campus banking operation and became a model that would later be adopted by higher institutions across the country. What started as a financial services initiative subsequently grew into a strategic alliance between academia and industry.

A significant turning point came in 1972 during the administration of former Vice Chancellor Jacob Festus Adeni Adjaye, when UBA established the Professorial Chair in Finance at UNILAG.

The endowment strengthened teaching and research in finance and laid the foundation for deeper collaboration in academic excellence and knowledge development over the ensuing decades.

The relationship has also been reinforced by a strong network of alumni who have played prominent roles in the bank’s leadership. Among them is Tony Elumelu, who obtained a Master of Science degree in Economics from UNILAG in 1986 before rising to become Group Chairman of UBA.

The university also produced former UBA Group Managing Directors Kennedy Uzoka and Phillips Oduoza, highlighting the deep human capital links between both institutions.

In 2024, UBA further demonstrated its commitment to the university community through the revitalisation of the iconic UNILAG Green Garden, creating a renewed recreational and social space for students, staff, and visitors. The project formed part of the bank’s broader efforts to enhance campus life while supporting the university’s development agenda.

The collaboration entered a new phase in 2026 with the commissioning of the UBA Innovation Hub and Business Office, a four-floor complex designed to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, research, and learning.

UBA also announced an additional N60 million enhancement to the Professorial Chair in Finance, aimed at supporting research in emerging fields, including financial technology and digital finance.
“This partnership demonstrates what is possible when industry and academia work together over the long term to create opportunities, build knowledge, and develop future leaders,” a UBA representative said.

Today, the bank serves more than 80,000 people within the UNILAG ecosystem and continues to invest in infrastructure, connectivity, research, and human capital development, reinforcing a relationship that has become a model for sustainable collaboration between the private sector and higher education in Nigeria.