Absa Group Awards Scholarships To 10 Ghanaian Students

Absa Group Limited, one of Africa's best growing banks through its Ghana subsidiary; Barclays Bank Ghana, has awarded a three and half year fully paid scholarship to 10 Ghanaian students.

The students will be pursuing various courses at the African Leadership University (ALU) at Kigali, Rwanda under the Mandela Centennial Scholarship (MCS) programme.

The 10 beneficiaries made up of SHS graduates and undergraduates went through a rigorous selection process during which they had to write thematic essays based on Nelson Mandela's philosophy on education.

The total cost of the scholarship is worth over $350,000 tuition, living allowance, accommodation and a laptop. In addition, each student will be entitled to a fully paid holiday back home during semester breaks as well as an internship with Barclays Bank Ghana.

The ALU employs the most innovative and effective method of teaching and learning. Students are encouraged to drive their own learning in a self-paced way and also learn from their peers. Students are attended to by expert facilitator who engages them in lively debates and discussions.

During a brief interaction with the scholars, in-coming Managing Director of Barclays Bank Ghana, Abena Osei –Poku congratulated them for the hard work they put in which ensured that they qualified.

“One area of our Shared Growth agenda is to empower young persons to attain greater heights in achieving their academic goals. These young persons have demonstrated potential for leadership by actively participating in identifying and solving problems in their communities”, she said.

She added that the beneficiaries “showed evidence of resilience in the face of challenging circumstances and how they used their resourcefulness to overcome economic, social and circumstantial barriers. They are particularly passionate about effecting social change”.

Earlier this year, Barclays Ghana awarded full scholarship to 195 students from 13 universities across Ghana.

Nana Essilfuah Boison, Director of Marking and Corporate Relations noted that the bank “will continue to provide education financing through bursaries and scholarships in our bid to increase access to higher education that will result in an increase in suitably qualified tertiary graduates entering the job market”.

The excited beneficiaries expressed appreciation to Absa Group Ltd and gave firm assurances that they will perform to their optimum best and make Ghana proud.

Barclays Ghana which is the currently the most profitable bank in the country, as at the end of the 2017 financial year, is part of the newly re-branded Absa Group Limited (formerly Barclays Africa Group Limited) and is preparing to rebrand as Absa by June 2020.

The new bold strategy associated with the new Absa brand prioritizes innovation, digital leadership, strong focus on customer and being a force for good in society, which are expected to ultimately help grow a forward-looking African business with global scalability that Ghana and Africa will be proud.

About Barclays Bank Ghana
Barclays Bank Ghana Limited (Barclays Ghana) is a leading financial services provider with over 100 years of banking operations in Ghana. Barclays combines its expertise and product knowledge with its rich experience and appreciation of the local environment to bring world-class banking to its customers and clients.

Services range from corporate & investment banking, business banking solutions for SMEs and a three-tier personal banking proposition – Personal, Prestige & Premier banking.

With 70 service outlets and over 165 ATMs spread across the country, Barclays also offers an array of digital banking solutions – online & mobile banking, CashSend ATM money transfer, ATM cash deposit and mobile money services; as well as credit cards and Point of Sale terminal services among others.

Barclays Bank Ghana is part of Absa Group Limited, which owns majority stakes in banks in Botswana, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, South Africa (Absa Bank), Tanzania (Barclays Bank Tanzania and National Bank of Commerce), Uganda and Zambia. Absa Group Limited also has representative offices in Namibia and Nigeria, as well as insurance operations in Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia.