UBA, United Bank for Africa chairman, Tony Elumelu, is among 100 most influential people in the world.
United States TIME made the announcement in its annual 2020’s top influential people in the world.
In Nigeria however, outside Elumelu, UBA chairman, Tomi Adeyemi and Tunji Funsho also made the list.
Tony Elumelu who also chairs Transcorp Plc is one of only four Africans on the list. He is one of Africa’s leading investors and philanthropists.
The annual honour, now in its seventeenth year, recognises the activism, innovation and achievement of the world’s most influential individuals.
Elumelu is recognised for young Africans’ empowerment and track record for business turnaround and value creation.
Tony Elumelu is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, his family owned investment Company.
The Holdings is committed to improving lives and transforming Africa, through long-term investments in strategic sectors of the African economy. These include financial services, hospitality, power, energy and healthcare.
UBA Group
UBA, one of the groups Tony superintends as Chairman, is a top pan-African financial services group. The bank operates in 20 countries in Africa, the United Kingdom and France. It is the only African bank with a commercial deposit taking licence in the United States. UBA provides corporate, commercial, SME and consumer banking services to more than 21 million customers globally.
Elumelu also chairs Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate, Transcorp. The conglomerate’s subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, leading generators of electricity in Nigeria and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s foremost hospitality brand.
In addition, Mr Elumelu is the most prominent champion of entrepreneurship in Africa. In 2010, he created The Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF. The Foundation empowers a new generation of African entrepreneurs, catalysing economic growth, driving poverty eradication and ensuring job creation across all 54 African countries.
Since inception, the Foundation has funded just under 10,000 entrepreneurs. It has created a digital ecosystem of over one million as part of its ten year, US$100m commitment through the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
Self-funded, the Foundation is increasingly sharing its unique ability to identify, train, mentor and fund young entrepreneurs across Africa. UNDP, the ICRC and leading European development agencies and institutions are partners.
Heirs Holdings serves as a corporate role model for African businesses.
Heirs Holdings and TEF will both celebrate 10 years of impact in November. Mr Elumelu’s economic philosophy of Africapitalism continuously inspire their missions It positions the private sector, and importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the continent.
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