Tony Elumelu Conferred with Belgium’s Highest National Honour
Africa’s leading economist and entrepreneur, Tony O. Elumelu, CON has been conferred with the honorary distinction of Officer in the Order of Leopold, the country’s oldest and most important National Honour by the Kingdom of Belgium. Tony O Elumelu received the national honour in recognition of his dedication and support to the eradication of poverty and the economic empowerment of young Africans.
The Royal decoration was presented by the Belgian Ambassador to Nigeria, H.E. Ambassador Daniel Bertrand on November 15, which was the Belgian King’s Day and also a symbolic national day of celebration. The Royal decoration was presented at the Belgian House in Abuja, in the presence public and private sector leaders.
Daniel Bertrand revealed that the honour and partnership with Tony Elumelu will open up economic opportunities between Nigeria and Belgium. He further said,
“His excellency, Tony Elumelu is very well considered by the Royal Family in my country for his excellent job in favour of promoting private enterprise, job for youths, the promotion of digitalization, the promotion of the private sector, and the eradication of poverty in Africa. So, Mr Elumelu is very well appreciated by the Royal family and by the Belgium government and that’s why Her Majesty, the King decided to give this special award to him. “
Also speaking on his honour, the secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha expressed a deep appreciation to the King and Queen of Belgium on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, for recognising the commendable efforts of Tony Elumelu and his support to Nigeria and the African continents, especially his focus on youth empowerment.
The African investor and philanthropist have developed opportunities that have created millions of jobs and employment for young Africans across the continent, through his foundation’s flagship initiative, The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEF). The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme is a 10-year US$100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 young African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries. Just six years since its founding, more than 9,600 young Africans have greatly benefitted from the initiative.
Tony Elumelu currently chairs Heirs Holding, a family-owned African investment company; United Bank for Africa, the leading Pan-African financial services provider and Transcorp, a leading diversified conglomerate and power generation provider, with subsidiaries such as Transcorp Power, one of Nigeria’s leading generators of electricity and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s premier hospitality provider.
He was recently listed among Time’s 100 most Influential People in the World 2020 and was conferred with the National Productivity Merit Award in Nigeria, 2019. In 2016, he was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award and the daily times, Nigerian Man of the Year.