On Saturday, March 22, 2025, Anthony Onyemaechi Elumelu (popularly called Tony Elumelu) marked his 62nd birthday anniversary. He used the occasion to touch the lives of many youths across Africa, as his manner has been.
On that day, The Tony Elumelu Foundation announced a $15m grant to support 3,000 young entrepreneurs across 52 African countries, as part of its 2025 entrepreneurship programme.
When he was born on March 22, 1963, the name given to him at birth, Onyemaechi (who knows tomorrow?) has been working for him.
He has grown in leaps and bounds to become an institution and a prominent figure on the globe. Apart from his chains of businesses that have announced him across the globe, his doing-good-spirit has also put him on the lips of many people beyond Africa.
He is the founder of the Foundation and chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp, and United Bank for Africa (UBA).
The Saturday, March 22, 2025 event was the unveiling of the 11th cohort of beneficiaries of the largesse.
“Our vision, which began in 2010, is to create a self-sustaining Africa powered by the energy, vision, and resilience of young entrepreneurs,” he had said at that event.
“We recognise the challenges they face in contributing to Africa’s economic transformation. However, if empowered and encouraged, these young Africans can drive meaningful change,” he further said.
Selected entrepreneurs would receive a non-refundable seed grant of $5,000 each to either launch or scale their businesses.
The astute businessman emphasised that access to capital alone was not sufficient, highlighting the importance of mentorship, business education, and continuous training in building sustainable enterprises.
“In the 21st century, Africa does not need aid; what it needs is investment in its youth,” he said.
Elumelu announced that the Foundation was in its 15th year, and has disbursed over $115m to more than 24,000 entrepreneurs since the launch of the programme in 2015, creating over 1.5 million jobs across the continent.
The initiative, which was originally aimed at supporting 10,000 young African entrepreneurs over 10 years, has since surpassed its initial target, he disclosed.
“We are keenly aware of the millions we’ve yet to reach, which is why I keep advocating that what Africa needs is not aid, but investments – in infrastructure and in our young ones, where the future lies,” he said.
Elumelu’s philanthropy has since attracted wide recognitions. He has been awarded across the globe and has been appointed into important positions occupied by great achievers like himself.
The most recent of such appointments was the one by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to its Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth. The august group is convened by IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva.
He was not just appointed into the Advisory Council because his name is Elumelu, he earned it.
For instance, his concept of Africapitalism and the belief that Africa’s private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent’s development, making long-term investments, that deliver social and economic value, have been commended by international bodies.
On the IMF Advisory Council, he joins other members to recommend policies that will enhance resource allocation, stimulate innovation, and catalyse sustainable private sector-led economic growth.
His inclusion on the Board was a big plus for, not just Nigeria, but Africa as a continent.
Reacting to the appointment, Elumelu had said: “I am honoured to receive the invitation of Kristalina Georgieva to join the IMF’s Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth.”
He used the opportunity to talk about the impact his Foundation has made in the lives of young people in Africa, and his determination to do more.
“As an entrepreneur, a builder of businesses and a champion of entrepreneurship, I know the transforming power of entrepreneurship. In 11 years, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has empowered over 24,000 Africans; created 1.5 million jobs; generated $4.2 billion in revenue; and lifted over 2 million Africans lifted out of poverty. HH Group portfolio companies now employ over 40,000 people and operate in 24 countries on 4 continents. Businesses that do well and do good will transform our world,” he said.
In a fitting tribute on the day of his birthday, someone had scripted: “To many, the tides of economic reform and industry shakeups would be formidable storms -uncertainties too great to navigate. But Tony Elumelu, like a master mariner, charted a course through tempests, turning each wave into an opportunity. At the tender age of 34, he became the youngest CEO of a Nigerian bank, a position few dared to dream of, let alone claim. When the whirlwind of banking consolidation swept across Nigeria, he did not retreat—he redefined. It was this same strategic foresight that transformed United Bank for Africa (UBA) from a local institution into a global powerhouse spanning 20 countries, serving over 20 million customers.”
Now talking about the UBA; the bank has been in a celebratory mood since last year. It rolled out the drums in a grand way to mark the 75 years of robust banking experience.
Elumelu in the eyes of VP Shettima
Last Friday, at the 75th Anniversary Dinner at Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima commended the staying power of the UBA in the past 75 years. He described the financial institution as a pacesetter in innovation, emerging markets and generational ambition.
“Seventy-five years is not something you pick up at a supermarket. It is earned. It’s through risks and calculations, through storms and sunshine, through mergers and acquisitions, and through the brainpower and courage of those who believe in its promise of a new world. That is what leadership means,” he said.
According to him, “The United Bank for Africa, or simply UBA, is not what it is because of the age of its ideas. It is what it is because of the attention it pays—attention to innovation, attention to emerging markets, attention to shifting dreams, and attention to the changing contours of generational ambition.
“UBA has remained a pacesetter because it is led by people who do not just manage capital, but manage curiosity.
“UBA’s staying power is owed to its pursuit of relevance. It has stood as a reward for new thinking, expanding not just across geography, but across ideas.
“It serves millions, it shapes economies, and it influences the narrative of what an African institution can become when excellence is institutionalised and when well-intentioned dream-makers are in charge.”
The Vice President, who described Elumelu as a dream-maker, said: “Tony Elumelu is not a dreamer. Dreamers are those who are stuck in the bubble. Elumelu is a dream-maker. He has made true the imagination of those who wish for an empire from the comfort of their homes. He has taught us that it is possible to build without breaking, to lead without losing touch, and to dream without borders.
“One thing that has amused me about Mr. Elumelu over the years is that he has cracked a code many still struggle to decipher—the delicate art of balancing the boardroom with the living room, of being a captain of industry and still a commander at home.
“Not many men have managed a balance between building empires and building families, between saving the world and being present at Christmas in their village. But this man, this maverick, this dream-maker, has shown us that you can help move the continent forward without losing touch with home and family.”
