14-year-old Kate Ene David has emerged winner of the fifth edition of the MTN mPulse Spelling Bee competition.
Kate, a student from Intimacy with Christ International School, Mararaba, Nasarawa State, won the bee after correctly spelling the word “acquiesce” in the finale.
As a result, the champion will become MTN Nigeria CEO for a day and assume leadership of Africa’s largest telecommunication network.
In her opening remarks at the event, the Chief Marketing Officer, MTN Nigeria, Adia Sowho, congratulated the top 20 contestants, who beat out over 11,000 participants to compete in the spelling bee finale, stating that the initiative presented a platform for them to develop and maximise their potential.
“Promoting digital education is one way in which we can encourage people to embrace the digital space and enjoy the benefits and convenience that come with it. This is why MTN mPulse continues to engage with young people through the website, which has a vast variety of educational content, enabling them to learn, play and shine.”
Giving her closing remarks, the Chief Human Resource Officer, MTN Nigeria, Esther Akinnukawe, commended the finalists for making it to the finals, stating:
“Congratulations to Kate for emerging the champion. I want to thank and commend every participant for showing up. Showing up is a winning quality, and I admire your courage in standing in front of the audience to represent yourself, your parent, and your school. We are thrilled to have such a large turnout, and we are more confident to carry on this educative initiative.”
In addition to being MTN Nigeria’s CEO for a day, Kate Ene David has been awarded ₦2.5 million scholarship grant, a laptop, a smartphone, and an MTN goody bag. MTN will also present a ₦350,000 grant and state-of-the-art ICT devices to the winner’s English teacher and school respectively.
“I am very excited and grateful to God for giving me the opportunity. The journey has never been easy, but I studied a lot.”
