Nigeria’s largest and biggest bank, Access bank and Nigerian Breweries (NB) have gone into collaboration to create ‘Access the stars.’

The initiative is a platform aimed at promoting and supporting music talent across Nigeria, through a music talent hunt with a grand prize worth N150 million.

The talent hunt show is expected to commence at the end of the year. Under the initiative, contestants would be selected from auditions that would take in six states.

It would see Nigerian- based singer, Deborah Oluwaseyi Joshua, also known as Seyi Shay; Dance Instructor, Kafayat Oluwatoyin Shafau (Kaffy) and Record producer, Temitayo Ibitoye (TY Mix) as Judges.

It is slated to commence with auditions at Abeokuta, Calabar, Lagos, Owerri, Onitsha and Abuja. The top 10 finalists would be picked to perform nationwide with top artists at Star trek events before the emergence of the grand winner.

Speaking at a press briefing to announce the talent hunt show yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc, Herbert Wigwe, expressed delight about the partnership, saying it would drastically improve and support the entertainment industry and in turn reduce unemployment amongst the youth.

His words: “We are celebrating a very unique partnership with two great institutions to ensure that we support national development and by the time we finished with this exercise, one of the things that we would have done for sure would be to bring out several great talents which in turn would serve as succession for the artistes we have in Nigeria at the moment.

“We have about 200 million people with talents, but some do not have the platform to do that and with statistics showing that more than 50 per cent of the population are still unemployed, that statistics can be changed.

“But what we are doing is to support and build these talents and create the appropriate platform, harnessing their raw talents, grooming them irrespective of where they are and make them shine more.”

Also speaking during the launch, the Chief Executive Officer, NB, Jordi Borrut Bel, explained that the talent show would be a platform to unearth raw talents in Nigeria.

He added that the company decided to partner Access Bank in order to ensure the Nigerian economy grows.

Speaking on what prompted the collaboration, he said: “If you look at NB, we have a history of supporting music and talent. We have the star trek event, star quest, star mega jam.

“So, NB has always been promoting music and talent and so as Access Bank. So, it was only logical that these companies of similar interest come together for ‘Access the star.’

“There is a clear need for the Nigerian economy to grow and Access Bank and Nigerian Breweries believe that there are so many talents in Nigeria that really become the next big thing and what they need the opportunity and platform to help achieve that exposure and that we want to give them.”