The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) completed its 2018 NSE Essay Competition with the presentation of shares, cash and computers to contest winners and their schools.
The winner of the essay writing contest was Miss Deborah Lawrence of Good Shepherd School in Ajegunle Village, Atan-Ota, Ugan State. Lawrence was chosen among 20,150 participants across the country, securing a N500,000 scholarship for her university, a N250,000 equity investment and a laptop. Her school was awarded a trophy, a printer and three desktop computers.
First runner-up was Miss Ashiru Oluwalanaayo of Corona Secondary School, Agbara, Ogun State and second runner-up was Master Dominic Charles of GEC Comprehensive College, Ipaja, Lagos State. The first- and second-place winners will each receive a laptop, equity investment and scholarships for their university education. Their schools also received computers and trophies.
Seven other winners also received laptops as consolation prizes.
Mr. Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, said the main purpose of the NSE Essay Competition is to build a generation of financially-savvy individuals by imbuing a culture of wealth creation among young people. The essay competition is now in its 18th year.
Mr. Onyema says the competition acts as a platform that allows the Exchange to gain some insight into the perspectives of future leaders on financial literacy matters.
The competition focuses on the youth segment, as providing financial education at an early age pays off in the future. But Mr. Onyema points out that financial literacy offers great value for people of all ages. The positive impacts of a financially literate society can be felt in the promotion of economic growth, higher living standards, wealth creation and improved financial systems.
“There is the need to build a platform that will help awaken the interest of our youths and buoy up students to learn and appreciate economic concepts, particularly as it concerns financial literacy and the significance of the capital market to the economy,” said Mr. Onyema.
This year’s competition asked students to discuss the following topic: “how technology can promote financial literacy and encourage investment habits among youths.” The goal of the topic was to get future leaders to think about how to adopt technology as a tool for promoting a financially savvy generation.
Leaders have commended NSE for its initiative, which aims to bridge the gap between practical knowledge and classroom learning for personal financial responsibility in societal development.
The competition has benefitted more than 40,000 young people in more than 8,000 secondary schools across the country.
