Tony Elumelu, Chairman of United Bank for Africa, is an accomplished banker and economist. Elumelu, a serial entrepreneur, has continually broken new grounds to the admiration of all. He has established himself as one of the top five multi-sectoral big players on the continent’s economy. His name resonates loud in other sectors such as hospitality, power, oil and gas, health, and real estate in the country. Though he has managed to juggle all of these with astounding results, he is still angling to break new grounds.
Years ago, when he set out to invest in the Nigerian insurance landscape, not a few agreed that the sector would never remain the same again. Some of the existing operators reportedly became jittery, knowing full well that Elumelu does not do his own things in half measures. Many had to go back to the drawing board for the obvious reason that whatever he touches turns into gold. Recently, he caused a ripple in the sector with the formal launch of two firms: Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life.
While Heirs Insurance offers a full range of insurance services, covering accidents, fires, health, investment, life, and pensions, Heirs Life offers premiums in case of death.
Interestingly, not only was Elumelu involved in the pre-and post-execution of the strategy leading to the launch, he personally supervised the construction of the 7-floor corporate headquarters of the two companies, as he was reportedly sighted on numerous occasions at the facility to ensure it was built to specification and also ready for the official launch. Unlike some others who see investing during a crisis as a gamble of sorts, Elumelu, who loves to lead by example, knows how taking a bold risk can be rewarding.
When he led a small group of investors to take over a small, financially distressed commercial bank, he strived for excellence. He beat his chest that he must not fail, and he didn’t. A few years after, the bank became one of the top five banks in Nigeria, metamorphosing into UBA. UBA has subsidiaries in 20 African countries, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
