Covenant University wins 2024 CGMA Business Leaders Challenge

After weeks of intense competition, Covenant University students have emerged as the overall winner of the 2024 Chartered Global Management Accountants (CGMA) Business Leaders Challenge.

The panel of judges, who are professionals from the accounting and financial management fields, including Dr Seyi Olanrewaju, Mr Stanley Ubani, Mrs Gbemi Adelowore, and Mrs Folake Ogundipe, adjudged Team Analyst from Covenant University, Ogun State, as the winners at the grand finale, which featured five finalists, held at the Bankers House in Lagos.

Team Analyst beat Team Lot from Nile University and “Team Visionary Titan” from Landmark University to second and third, respectively. TopFaith University and the University of Lagos got consolation prizes for reaching the finals.

Team Analyst received N1 million in prize money for their efforts, a year registration for the CGMA Finance Leadership Programme (FLP) worth £2,000 (around N4.2 million) per participant, and an internship opportunity at a renowned corporate organisation. Team Lot received N700,000 and a two-month internship opportunity while Team Visionary Titan won N500,000 and also a two-month internship opportunity.

The teams were asked to solve real-life business challenges and presented their proposals to a panel of senior executives in finance and business management. The 2024 CGMA Business Leaders Challenge provided young Nigerian talents with the opportunity to enhance their business, leadership, and problem-solving skills, and showcased their potential as future accounting, finance, digital, and business leaders.

Commenting on the significance of the competition, Ijeoma Anadozie, Country Director at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), said the competition is in line with her organisations dedication to nurture and empower up-and-coming finance, accounting, and business professionals using the Business Leaders Challenge. She commended the 57 universities that took part in this years challenge for their brilliant presentations, especially the five that made the finals. The field this year had 57 universities compared to the 30 that participated in last years edition.