Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu is a Nigerian economist, entrepreneur, investor, and
philanthropist. He is the founder of the widely known philanthropic venture,
The Tony Elumelu Foundation.
Meet Tony Elumelu
Tony Elumelu was born on March 22, 1963 to the family of Mr. Dominic and Mrs Suzanne Elumelu, in the city of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria albeit a native of Onicha-Ukwu in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State.
A trained economist, he bagged his bachelor’s degree from Ambrose Alli University and a master’s degree from the University of Lagos. He is also an alumnus of the
Harvard Business School’s Advancement Management Programme.
Financial Guru
Elumelu has a very rich career profile. He acquired and was a key player on the
Standard Trust Bank team, where he helped to improve their market value, thereby causing the bank to rank as one of the top five in Nigeria. He also led the acquisition of
United Bank for Africa (UBA) and transformed it into a pan-African institution from its initial status as a single-country bank.
On his own, he founded
Heirs Holdings, after retiring from UBA in 2010. Heirs Holdings is a company which invests in energy, real estate, financial services, agribusiness, healthcare sectors, and hospitality. A year after establishment, the company acquired a controlling interest in Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), a conglomerate interested in the agribusiness, hospitality, and energy sectors. Subsequently, he became the chairman of
Transcorp.
In 2010, Tony Elumelu founded the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF). This foundation is an Africa-based philanthropic venture. TEF, the philanthropic arm of Heirs Holdings, was founded
to support and empower entrepreneurs who will in turn contribute to the prosperity and development of the African continent. It funds
1,000 Africa-based business ventures on a yearly basis. So far, the foundation has spent over
₦2 billion towards both entrepreneurship and other institutions in Africa.
Currently, Elumelu is the vice-chairman of the
National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN), a Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute Dialogue Series on Global Food Security, an advisor to the USAID’s Private Capital Group for Africa (PCGA). He sits on some boards that have the purpose of creating millions of jobs annually.
Did you know: Tony Elumelu originated the term, ‘Africapitalism’?
According to Tony Elumelu,
“Africapitalism’ is an economic philosophy that embodies the private sector’s commitment to the economic transformation of Africa through long term investments that create both economic prosperity and social wealth.”
One of Elumelu’s visions is that
Africa will take charge of the value-adding sectors by a generation of private sector entrepreneurs who have vision, the tools and opportunities to reshape the continent.
Tony Elumelu has been recognised on various platforms, some of which are:
- Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2012
- “Africa’s 20 Most Powerful People in 2012” by Forbes Magazine
- “ESI Most Influential Figures in African Power” by ESI-Africa in 2015
- Lifetime Achievement Award by CGECI Academy, Abidjan in 2016
- Honorary doctorate of science degree from Benue State University
- Honorary doctorate of business administration from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).
Many hats
In addition to his numerous achievements, Tony Elumelu is a writer, having written about his philosophy and the economic development of Africa for several publications around the world including
The Economist,
The Wall Street Journal, and
The Financial Times. Not only that, some books were written with him as the inspiring factor. Those books include
How to Excel at Work – Proven Strategies for Achieving Superior Work Performance by Bill A. Odum, and
The Power of Vision: Insights on Tony Elumelu, written on the occasion of his retirement as Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer at UBA.
Tony Elumelu is married to medical doctor, Vivienne Awele Elumelu and they have seven children together.
