Nigerian Billionaire Commits $100 Million To Create 10,000 African Entrepreneurs.

BIO

A visionary entrepreneur and philanthropist. Born, raised and educated in Africa, Mr. Elemelu has been responsible for creating businesses across the continent, in sectors critical to Africa’s economic development.

He serves as chairman of Heirs Holdings Limited, chairman of affiliated company, Transcorp, Nigeria’s largest listed conglomerate, and is the creator of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, dedicated to catalysing entrepreneurship across Africa.

In his early career, Mr. Elumelu turned the financially distressed Standard Trust Bank into a top-five financial services player in Nigeria. In 2005 he led the largest merger in the banking sector in sub-Saharan Africa, acquiring United Bank for Africa –UBA today operates in 19 Africa countries, as well as New York, London and Paris.

In 2010, he founded Heirs Holdings Limited, an African investment holding company with investments in financial services, power, oil and gas, agribusiness, real estate and hospitality. In the same year he established The Tony Elumelu Foundation, an Africa-based and funded philanthropy, dedicated to the promotion of entrepreneurship in Africa.

Mr. Elumelu is the author and leading proponent of the philosophy  “Africapitalism,” which advocates the private sector’s commitment to Africa’s development through long-term investment in strategic sectors of the economy that drive economic prosperity and social wealth.

In 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria conferred the national honour of Member of the Federal Republic (M.F.R.) on Mr Elumelu. In 2012 he was awarded the prestigious National Honour of; Commander of the Order of the Niger (C.O.N.) for his service in promoting private enterprise.  In 2013, Mr. Elumelu received the Leadership Award in Business and Philanthropy from the Africa-America Institute Awards. He was also named African Business Icon at the 2013 African Business Awards.

Mr. Elumelu presently serves as a member of the USAID’s Private Capital Group for Africa Partners Forum. He sits on the Nigerian President’s Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council and serves as Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute Dialogue Series on Global Food Security. He played a leading role in the formation of the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria and now serves as its vice chairman. He chairs the Ministerial Committee to establish world-class hospitals and diagnostic centres across Nigeria, at the invitation of the Federal Government.

His Latest Conversation::::

 "Entrepreneurs and those they inspire are the lifeblood of Africa's rise"

Nigerian billionaire investor and philanthropist Tony Elumelu announced today the launch of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP), where he is committing $100 million to create 10,000 entrepreneurs across Africa over the next 10 years.

According to Forbes, the program will identify and help grow 10,000 startups and young businesses from across Africa and it will provide training, funding, and mentoring, designed to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs.

“The opportunity and challenge in Africa is scale – in our people, our resources and our horizons. In my business and philanthropic journeys, I have always sought ways to help inspire a generation across our continent. This program brings together my own entrepreneurial experience and my fundamental belief that entrepreneurs – women and men across Africa – will lead Africa’s development and transform our futures,” said Elumelu, founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, said in a press statement.

It is estimated that up to 95 % of entrepreneurs in Nigeria fail in the first three years.  TEEP will offer a customized 12-week business skills training course, mentoring, an entrepreneurship ‘boot camp’, and seed capital funding among other things. Interested entrepreneurs will be able to submit their applications to join the program through the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s website.

The idea is that these businesses will in turn create 1,000,000 new jobs and contribute $10 billion in annual revenues to Africa’s economy. The 10,000 startups selected from a pool of applicants across Africa will participate in a comprehensive program.