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Few billionaires command repute like Tony Elumelu. The depth at which he lives becomes his personal song or energetic thumbprint he leaves upon the world. In the symphony of his existence, the exploits of the chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) constitute the melody of his legacy. Elumelu’s true bequest to the world is neither his asset nor his billions but the positive transformation he brings to the lives of fellow humans. This is why, in an unprecedented move, the graduate business school of Harvard University, United States, has coopted the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s extraordinary achievements as a case study in its curriculum, writes LANRE ALFRED
There is a belief in billionaire circuits that Tony Elumelu was born at the exact moment when the barrier between the world and the heavens parted and stretched whisper-thin, thus drenching his natal passage with divine blessings. Some claim he popped out swaddled in pixie dust, further substantiating claims that his enviable trajectory as a man was charted from birth.
Whatever the claims and contemplation surrounding his birth hour, the most important truth about Elumelu is that his birth appended a whole new meaning to a divine miracle; the more his life unfurls, the more he substantiates notions of his charmed existence – the Chairman, United Bank of Africa (UBA) personifies that proverbial old magic of industry, that belts its heady, sweet notes to spur and enrich anyone who cares to listen.
Indeed, Possessing the ashes of great men is often more convenient than possessing the men themselves in their lifetime. But in Tony Elumelu’s case, the reality is remarkably different; Nigeria is extremely lucky to possess Elumelu. This is because the maverick banker elevates fiscal management and entrepreneurship to an art form for the benefit of Nigeria and Africa.
The imperative to celebrate Elumelu manifests across Africa and America’s high societies and industrial circuits, where he blazes an enviable and inspiring trajectory. This is why his Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) was recently coopted as a case study in the prestigious Harvard Business School curriculum.
In an unprecedented move, the Harvard Business School, the graduate business school of Harvard University, has spotlighted the TEF, recognising its philanthropic achievements in a revolutionary case study.
The case study, the first of its kind on any philanthropic organisation in Africa, was launched on Thursday, February 29, 2024, before a class of graduate students in Boston, Massachusetts and will explore the foundation’s unique approaches and transformative initiatives, showcasing how strategic philanthropy offered by TEF is driving positive change and elevating countries and communities.
This move by Harvard underscores the foundation’s pivotal role in empowering young African entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries and places the foundation at the forefront of global discussions on transformative and catalytic philanthropy, acknowledging its significant contributions towards fostering entrepreneurship in Africa.
In addition to delving into the foundation’s innovative approaches and the resultant impact it has garnered over the years, the event also featured an exclusive acknowledgement of the Founder of TEF, Tony Elumelu’s economic philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions the private sector and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.
Despite such global appreciation and celebrating his feats, Elumelu maintains a shrewd disposition to acclaim. He understands that his privileged status must be taken as more than an opportunity to cavort and indulge in guilty pleasures.
For instance, he takes every anniversary as an opportunity to check in on himself and reexamine his life and accomplishments amid the tumult of life. If you ask, he would tell you that taking stock periodically offers him a chance to reassess his life without recourse to blame-mongering, the mourning of near misses and botched opportunities.
Rather than yield to the dread of coming up short, Elumelu fills his days with gratitude for his growth, evaluating how far he has come and to what extent his business and charitable gestures impact his immediate and remote communities.
Overall, Elumelu commits to creating conditions essential to turning a good business idea into a formidable enterprise. The difference is in the ability to translate the idea into action, into reality. To turn ideas or dreams into results that can be seen and measured, some factors are required, he said.
“You need to be disciplined, focused and resilient. In the journey of trying to translate ideas into results, many things happen. And if you are not disciplined, focused and resilient, you will not reach your destination. Of course, some things are out of our control as business owners. This is the case with the operating environment. These are things that are outside the domain and control of entrepreneurs, but they are also important in shaping and defining whether an idea becomes successful or not.
“The tax regime, the infrastructure, the power – who is in power? – Market access. These things are beyond the imaginative powers of an aspiring entrepreneur. So, I would say, in short, that for a business to succeed or not to succeed it requires a government interaction, doing what must be done to create the right environment, and the entrepreneur being energetic, focused and resilient. Then, of course, the support of people like us for access to capital, training, and mentoring. We work together,” said Elumelu.
Aside from all these, the government said Elumelu must play its part in facilitating an environment that enables businesses and entrepreneurs to thrive.
He added, “First, it is a great responsibility of the government to create the right operating environment. Governments should try to make their business environment hospitable and attractive for investment. When the government makes the country attractive, when that country opens up, investors can invest. When investors arrive, they invest in energy, telecommunications, road, port, airport, and rail infrastructure. All the government needs to do is create the right conditions that will attract investors and create the right environment to attract investment to the country.
“When this investment happens, in what we call Africa-capitalism, when the private sector invests in the long run, Investors profit, but at the same time they help provide the services and equipment companies need. It is therefore up to governments to continue to work on laws that guarantee property rights, creating the right macroeconomic environment that ensures predictability.”
However, Elumelu is not all mere talk. To assert his commitment to his professed purpose, Elumelu devotes every resource at his disposal to wealth creation and propagation across Africa.
Like the proverbial nurturant spirit, billionaire magnate and bank chief shoulders a self-appointed task of nursing wilting and fresh seeds to full bloom. And that was why he established the foundation.
Elumelu understands that donations and philanthropic gestures from his ilk, while appreciable, must not be restricted to pitiable handouts in cash and kind. Hence, he established the TEF as a more dependable vehicle of spreading prosperity and providing a fairer economic system.
While he recognises that philanthropic giving plays an important role in tackling poverty, he adopts a more constructive means to ending poverty and fighting inequality via his foundation.
Founded in 2010 by Elumelu, the foundation has grown to become Nigeria’s leading philanthropic organisation, and this is attributable to its ingenious means of philanthropy, including a culture of empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment.
Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed nearly $100 million in direct funding to 18,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector and, most importantly, entrepreneurs as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.
The foundation’s ability to fund, train, mentor, and network young African entrepreneurs has also created a unique platform for catalysing growth across the African continent. The robust ability of the TEF to reach entrepreneurs across geographies and sectors has enabled it to conduct innovative partnerships with the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the US government via the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the French Development Agency (AFD), the German Development Finance Institution (DEG), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and Google, with bespoke programmes including targeting female empowerment and growth in fragile states.
One veritable but unforgettable charity on the TEF platform was the Elumelu Nigeria Empowerment Fund, a non-profit organisation established to transform communities ravaged by natural disasters, hazards and conflicts into thriving and economically sustainable communities.
The Elumelu Nigeria Empowerment Fund was created from the N2.5 billion donated by The Tony Elumelu Foundation and Heirs Holdings companies and was announced at the Presidential Fundraising Dinner for the Victims Support Fund in July 2014.
The fund focused on communities such as those in the Niger Delta and Plateau states to create opportunities and empower people in affected communities, enabling them to rebuild their lives and businesses whilst instilling a sense of economic empowerment for the long term.
Given TEF’s focus on promoting entrepreneurship as the key to sustainable socio-economic development on the continent, the Elumelu Nigeria Empowerment Fund was made nonoperational in 2015 to implement the foundation’s entrepreneurship programme fully.
Since establishing the TEF, few beneficiaries have emerged and blossomed across Nigeria and Africa’s industrial sectors, thus driving an all-inclusive growth process across the continent. It may be said that Tony Elumelu, through his charities and youth empowerment platforms, has contributed in no small measure to eradicating poverty and unemployment on the African continent.
