The United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Transcorp Plc Chairman, Tony Elumelu, is a man with great foresight, resolve and compassion. Welcome to the world of the Lion-king, the world of possibilities, lighted by the philosophy of Africapitalism.
Not every person, or even a nation, is able to stay on course while pursuing his long-term visions for growth, development and prosperity. In times of adversities, many with great vision sometimes digress, trip, falter or fail. Staying on course requires leadership’s foresightedness, resolve, consistency and eagerness to prioritize welfare of the citizenry. There cannot be a better example of this determination in Africa, right now than Elumelu, a business leader who has always delivered values, leading the youth on a path of prosperity.
Through his Tony Elumelu Foundation, (TEF) and Heirs Holdings, he has ensured the consistent funding of close to 10,000 entrepreneurs as well as job creation for millions of youths across all 54 African countries.
Elumelu is an entrepreneur who uses his resources and skills to build and nurture African youth on the path of glorious entrepreneurial journey, thereby building in them a strong psychological frame of minds to face the future. He has been at the forefront of calling on African leaders to build human capacity and competitiveness to further enhance the performance of all sectors. The goal is to ensure high quality life for all citizens through stronger and productivity to raise GDP growth.
Ever since 2010 , he has taken up the challenge of infusing African youth with hope and mentoring entrepreneurs. As a result of these, he has achieved a prominent slot in global recognitions, and has attained unparalleled celebrity position more than any African business man or philanthropist, in recent years, forming a cult-like status in the continent, revered by youth and respected by political leaders, liberals and conservatives alike.
All these things have today made many African youth to see a little of this man, the lion-king in themselves on television — three piece-suits, shinning shoes , seemingly meek, but ready to do lead way in the name of development.
A strong endorsement of this track record came recently when it was revealed that Elumelu stands as one of Times 100 Personalities, having achieved a prominent slot in global recognition. He is among three Nigerians named by the Time Magazine International on the 2020 TIME100, the annual roll of HONOUR of the 100 most influential people in the world. The other two Nigerians include Tomi Adeyemi and Tunji Funsho.
Elumelu is acknowledged as one of Africa’s leading investors and philanthropists for his achievements in business, industry and development not only in Nigeria in particular, but also in Africa in general. The list, now in its 17th year, recognises the activism, innovation, and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals in their respective fields of human endeavour.
His efforts has led to the development of a raft of entrepreneurs across Africa and has de-escalated tension across different regions, leading toward gradually resolving the crises of lack of productivity, unemployment and poverty . This crisis is just one of dozens things Tony has been doing in the continent, assuming the role of the tireless firefighter.
He has developed new strategies to empower young generations with skill-sets and knowledge to fast-track the transition to a digital economy and prepare them for the future economy that will tackle the issues of sustainability and the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
He is known as a man of peace and development, the natural youth leader who most African youth look to when they need direction, an advice or an out of the box solution to a regional problem. A veteran banker who never shields away from employing his skills and big influence stature to infuse youth with possibilities, Tony has this gift which only few lead
Where there seems to be no hope, Tony functions as a symbol of hope and power to turn things around, even while operating from a disadvantage. Tony showed the power of working from a disadvantage — the more they underestimate you, the more satisfying the victory. This happened when he took over STB in 1997. He came into the limelight that year when he led a small group of investors to take over a small, floundering commercial bank Standard Trust Bank in Lagos. He turned it profitable within a few years. And in 2005 he merged it with the United Bank for Africa during the bank consolidation era of the Central Bank of Nigeria, under the watch of Professor Charles Soludo. That banking group now has subsidiaries in 20 African countries and in the U.S and U.K. Elumelu also owns extensive real estate across Nigeria and a minority stake in mobile telecom firm MTN Nigeria, among other assets.
He continues to play great roles within the African continent to give hope, and bring calm even during the roughest storms that seem to continuously hit the African region in today’s world. In recent years, Tony has done many marvelous things, putting in commendable efforts across the Africa to activate private sector economic productivity and development in the continent. In this way, he has been complementing the effort of government across the Africa towards economic diversification, with each country taking steps to lessen the reliance on oil and mitigate the impact of its chronic volatility on their economies and people.
There is no doubt that human, social and cultural growth go hand in hand with developing and improving financial resources, which Tony has been concerned with. All these have combined to bring him accolades from across the world, including the TIME 100 award.
Elumelu is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings. His family-owned investment company, committed to improving lives and transforming Africa, through long-term investments in strategic sectors of the African economy, including financial services, hospitality, power, energy and healthcare. He is only one of four Africans on the 2020 list, recognised for his track record of business turnaround and value creation, and economic empowerment of young Africans.
Elumelu is also the Chairman of a pan-African financial services group, the United Bank for Africa (UBA), operating in 20 countries in Africa, the United Kingdom, and France. UBA is reputed to be the only African bank with a commercial deposit taking licence in the United States.The bank provides corporate, commercial, SME and consumer banking services to more than 21 million customers globally.
Elumelu also chairs Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate, Transcorp, whose subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, one of the leading generators of electricity in Nigeria and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s foremost hospitality brand.
On the plain of entrepreneurship Elumelu, who is the most prominent champion in Africa, in 2010 created The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, catalysing economic growth, driving poverty eradication.
Since its creation, the TEF has ensured the creation of millions of jobs for youths across all 54 African countries, particularly the funding not just under 10,000 entrepreneurs, but a digital ecosystem of over one million as part of its ten year, $100million commitment through the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
The Foundation, which is a self-funding institution, has increasingly shared its unique ability to identify, train, mentor and fund young entrepreneurs across Africa, with institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the ICRC and leading European development agencies.
Heirs Holdings, which serves as a corporate role model for African businesses, and the Tony Elumelu Foundation will both celebrate 10 years of impact in November. Their mission continues to be inspired by which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the continent.
It is Tony’s belief therefore that the development models in African countries should not only focus on raising economic growth levels, but also prioritize education, training, investing in human capital and social development, since human development is the ticket to a more prosperous and secure future.
Given this scenario, it is clear that Africa must consider creating funding for human capital investments through leveraging commodities revenues. These funds will be allocated to prepare and train the youth, empower them with future-focused skills and learning, build their capacities, and create jobs that enable them to utilize their skills to meet future demands in their countries and help develop new sectors of a future economy – one that is ultimately independent of commodities or oil.
Tony’s message to everyone is that Africa has no option but to excel and move ahead. Retreat is never an option. This is Africapitalism philosophy in the world of the Lion-king, the world of possibilities. Welcome to that world.
Add a Comment