Tony Elumelu receives the first-ever TIME100 Impact Award for his efforts in business leadership and entrepreneurship
Nigerian economist and philanthropist Tony Elumelu has received the TIME100 Impact Award for promoting business leadership and entrepreneurship across Africa. The award was presented at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, United Emirates.
Time100 Impact Award recognizes global leaders who are significant to the growth of their various industries and have impacted the world.
Here’s what Time Magazine have to say about Tony Elumelu:
”Tony Elumelu had a vision: that private enterprise—not foreign aid or government borrowing—should be the primary generator of economic development in Africa. What became known as ’Africapitalism’ has since ushered in a boom in entrepreneurship and regional connectivity across the continent. Elumelu knew it would work because he had seen it work.
Born in the central Nigerian city of Jos, Elumelu, 58, studied economics in college before entering banking—first helping to turn around the distressed Standard Trust Bank before rising to lead the United Bank of Africa in its expansion across 20 African countries as well as France, the U.S., and the U.K. Nicknamed “Lion King” and known for his signature red ties, Elumelu saw how empowering local businesses could unleash boundless potential.
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Following his retirement in 2010, Elumelu launched a family-owned investment company called Heirs Holdings, and the philanthropic Tony Elumelu Foundation, which focuses on promoting business leadership and entrepreneurship across Africa. To date, over 15,000 young entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries have each received $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital out of an initial commitment of $100 million made in 2015. ’We want to see the businesses of our young ones … rise and overtake what we’ve already built,’ Elumelu told a group of fellow business leaders last November.”
Other recipients of the TIME100 Impact Awards include David Adjaye, architect and founder, Adjaye Associates; Sarah Al Amiri, U.A.E. Minister of State for Advanced Technology; Ellie Goulding, singer-songwriter and activist; Huda Kattan, entrepreneur and founder, Huda Beauty; Deepika Padukone, actor, producer and philanthropist; and will.i.am, a musician and entrepreneur.
A business owner, Tony Elumelu is the founder of Heirs Holdings, The Tony Elumelu Foundation and Chairman of Transcorp. He also serves as chair of the United Bank of Africa, where his vision for securing long-term investments from the private sector to drive economic development in Africa has helped create new job opportunities and turn the continent into a hub for innovation.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation has given $5,000 each to 15,000 young entrepreneurs from 54 African countries as part of his effort to grow the entrepreneurial spirit in Africa and encourage economic development.