SwiftTrust Microfinance Bank Limited has been named the official financial partner of the inaugural MISS 9JA competition, with the Abuja-based bank to hold the ₦10,000,000 grand prize and manage the winner’s monthly allowance.
The partnership, which runs through the national finale in Abuja on June 12, 2027, will also see SwiftTrust provide banking services to applicants and contestants and deliver financial literacy training to the 37 State Queens.
Under the arrangement, the bank will keep the grand prize in a designated account until it is disbursed to the eventual winner after the finale.
It will also disburse the reigning Queen’s monthly allowance throughout her 12-month tenure.
SwiftTrust will be the sole banking services provider to MISS 9JA, its applicants and contestants under the partnership.
The arrangement will further allow applicants and contestants to open SwiftTrust accounts, while the 37 State Queens will undergo a financial literacy programme provided by the bank.
However, the organisers stressed that opening an account would not be a requirement for entering the competition, voting or progressing in the contest.
Speaking on the partnership, the Founder and Director of Partnerships at MISS 9JA, Adenike Isi Adeeko, said financial literacy was more important than merely displaying a corporate logo.
“Thirty-seven young women are about to receive national attention for the first time,” Adeeko said.
She added, “They will be offered a great deal of advice about money, and very little of it will be good.”
According to her, the partnership was designed to equip the contestants with practical knowledge on managing their finances.
“A bank that teaches them to hold on to what they earn is worth more to them than a logo on a backdrop. That is the part of this partnership we care about,” she said.
Speaking further,she said MISS 9JA will crown one Queen from each of Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory before bringing all 37 State Queens to Abuja for the national crown.
“Applications for the competition close on November 30, 2026.
“Public voting will take place in two rounds, from December 7, 2026, to February 21, 2027, and from April 12 to May 16, 2027.
“In-person verification will be conducted across the states between March 8 and April 2, 2027.
“The national finale will hold in Abuja on June 12, 2027, to coincide with Democracy Day.”
The organisers said SwiftTrust’s partnership would provide visibility, integration and access but would not extend to the competitive process.
The bank, they added, would have no role in judging, scoring, verification or selecting contestants, State Queens or the national winner.
They further stated that contestant data would not be shared with any partner without the contestant’s consent.