News
Tony Elumelu @ 61: Marking Another Milestone
By Chidiebere Nwobodo
The unit of life is time. And life is like a leaf of plain white paper you decide what to write on it. This philosophy defined Tony Elumelu’s teenage years.
Tony Elumelu
Then young Tony set out to discover not only what the future holds for him but to design it, which exemplifies Abraham Lincoln’s postulation that the best way to predict the future is to create it.
He did not wait for life to happen to him—he happened to life!
Sixty-one years on the voyage of life, riding tides in turbulent ocean of the universe, like great Michelangelo, Tony Elumelu has not only carved and painted his “tomorrow” but has become a paragon of success story for young entrepreneurs to copy. His impact in modelling young entrepreneurs has reverberated across Africa via Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF).
He is a private sector leader cum shrewd investor with investments in key sectors of the African economy through Heirs Holdings, Transcorp Group, UBA Group, etcetera.
Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been created by this entrepreneurial maven. At an early stage, with an eagle-eyed focus, he was poised to achieve greatness in life.
He could not allow any perceived disadvantage to weaken his resolve to rise from nadir of obscurity to olympian cliff of fame. Like Arthur C. Clarke said: “The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible”.
Tony Elumelu, as a pacesetter, believes that impossible is just a word. At 34, he was already chief executive officer of defunct Standard Trust Bank and one of the youngest bank CEOs in Nigeria.
Stories of reforms and revolution of African banking industry cannot be complete without outlining his sterling efforts towards positioning African banking industry to compete with the rest of the world.
His indelible footprints of success as chief executive of United Bank of Africa (UBA), will remain a revered point of reference for ages to come.
Tony Elumelu’s ten-year visionary leadership at UBA positioned the Bank as leading 21st century mega bank in the continent, with over 20 million active customers, 30,000 employees, and 1,000 branches across 20 countries of Africa.
When Americans brag with behemoths like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Europeans pride in leviathans like Barclays, Deutsche Bank AG, Africans glow in the UBA Group—all thanks to Tony O. Elumelu, CFR. The man who created his “tomorrow”.
In 2010, he retired as chief executive officer of the UBA Group and founded Heirs Holdings and The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF).
Beyond banking industry, Tony Elumelu has straddled the divide of hospitality industry. His spirit of excellence can be seen in Transcorp Hillton, Abuja, a five-star hotel located at the heart of the Nigeria’s capital, where he has controlling interest.
As the billionaire entrepreneur is graciously cerebrating his 61th birthday, the life of Tony O. Elumelu has become another proof that repeated excellence heralds greatness.
It exudes a purpose driven life anchored on eternal philosophy, that life is not an accident, which implies that for anyone to be great you have to set out for it with laser-focused vision and purpose-driven passion.
Tony O. Elumelu is the father of Africapiltalism—an economic philosophy hedged on optimizing power of capitalism via entrepreneurship to liberate Africa from the shackles and hackles of multidimensional poverty and crass underdevelopment.
Being one of the Forbes’ recognized richest people in Africa, In 2020, he was honoured amongst Times Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world. Despite achieving giant strides and reaching lofty milestones in life, the Delta-born business guru has never downplayed the place of grace in his meteoric rise to stardom.
On several platforms, with sense of humility and humour, he has narrated how luck—or what can be called favour, mixed with dint of hard work, contributed immensely to his projectile growth from being just a corp member at Union Bank, to emerging as one of the youngest CEOs of commercial banks, to chairing one of the largest banking conglomerates in Africa.
He has asked this philosophical but rhetorical question in one of his public outings: “Am I blessed or am I lucky?”. I will try to answer it. Tony O. Elumelu is both blessed and lucky. Everything about him bespeak blessings. His body language acknowledges biblical expository that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong but to him God shows mercy.
It takes unparalleled humility and a deep understanding of the role of the supernatural in the affairs of men, for a billionaire who has attained height of success to openly acknowledge the place of luck in his success story. This is one of the great attributes that stands out Tony O. Elumelu.
Despite his hard work and sacrifices to get to his enviable status today, he has always acknowledged that he is a blessed and lucky person. His philanthropic strides and gestures are driven by this belief that he is just a custodian of wealth meant to better humanity.
A school of thought says: “what we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains, and is immortal”. This is the ideology that gave birth to Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), and transformed Onyemaechi—the founder, from being just a human to a humanitarian.
Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), in the last decade has done marvellously well to empower over 16,000 young entrepreneurs across 54 countries in Africa, through training, mentoring and funding them with start-up capital of $5,000 each. In 2015, the Foundation launched an “Entrepreneurship Programme”, a $100 million intervention to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over the next ten years. Elumelu’s passion for young entrepreneurs is not only unequalled but contagious. Global bodies like UNDP, UNCDF, AfDB, Red Cross, etcetera, have all identified with the Foundation via partnership.
Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, as an advocate of Africapitalism, and who is fondly called the King of soft life, admonishes that next frontier of Africa’s wealth will be in entrepreneurial quest of her youths. We cannot keep watching African youths risk and waste their lives trying to cross Sahara desert and Mediterranean Sea to search for greener pasture in the developed world.
As he marks another birthday milestone, I choose to celebrate his impactful journey so far on the lives of African youth. There is a school of thought that encourages us to celebrate lives of those who have become exemplary in order to get others in the society to emulate such virtues.
Nwobodo, a public analyst, writes from Abuja
Africa Prudential Plc has reaffirmed its commitment to sustainable growth and digital transformation after posting another strong half-year financial performance, driven by robust growth in its core registrar business, technology-driven solutions and increased activity in Nigeria’s capital market.
Speaking during the company’s H1 2026 Investor Call on Tuesday, the management outlined plans to deepen revenue diversification and accelerate innovation as part of efforts to reduce reliance on interest income and strengthen long-term profitability.
The company reported gross earnings of ₦4.28 billion for the first half of 2026, representing a 27 per cent increase from ₦3.34 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2025.
Profit before tax rose by 22 per cent to ₦2.41 billion, while profit after tax climbed 18 per cent to ₦1.59 billion.
Net operating income also increased by 27 per cent to ₦4.21 billion, while total assets grew by 13 per cent to ₦46.53 billion. Shareholders’ funds similarly rose by 13 per cent to ₦12.52 billion.
According to the company, the impressive performance was driven by sustained growth in its registrar business, increased corporate actions across the Nigerian capital market, stronger treasury earnings supported by the prevailing interest rate environment and rising adoption of its technology-enabled products and services.African Mineral Wealth
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Catherine Nwosu, said Africa Prudential is steadily evolving from a traditional share registrar into a diversified technology and business solutions provider serving the broader capital market ecosystem.
Addressing concerns from investors about the sustainability of earnings if interest rates decline, Nwosu said the company was deliberately expanding its non-interest income sources.
“Interest rates influence our treasury income positively, but that is why we are deliberately diversifying our revenue streams. Our strategy is to grow recurring fee-based business lines such as our digital solutions, Know Your Customer (KYC) services, AGM technology, probate services and the SabiVest mobile app. Over time, this will reduce our reliance on interest income and create a more balanced and resilient earnings mix,” she said.
She noted that increasing activity in the Nigerian capital market presents fresh opportunities for technology-driven solutions.
“With capital market activity nearly doubling over the past year, demand for seamless digital investor experiences, improved market efficiency and stronger compliance standards continues to grow. We are investing in technology-enabled solutions that position us to capitalise on these opportunities while delivering sustainable value to our shareholders,” she added.
Looking ahead, the company identified five strategic priorities for the second half of 2026, including driving sustainable growth through its core registrar business and new revenue streams, accelerating technology-led product innovation, strengthening brand leadership, investing in talent development and reinforcing corporate governance.
The investor call attracted institutional investors, shareholders, analysts, regulators and other capital market stakeholders, reflecting strong interest in Africa Prudential’s earnings outlook, revenue diversification strategy and long-term growth plans.
News
IHS Nigeria Donates Business-Support Equipment to Empower People with Disabilities in Abuja Community
Communications infrastructure company, IHS Nigeria, has donated business support equipment to empower people with disabilities within the Karonmajiji community in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. This is part of the company’s commitment to drive inclusive community development and sustainable livelihood support under its Project Empower initiative.
The equipment was distributed to beneficiaries during a ceremony held in the community on Monday, July 27. The initiative was conceived following a community needs assessment and is designed to empower active traders by providing them with business tools rather than cash grants, thereby strengthening their businesses and ensuring long-term economic impact and accountability.
Speaking at the event, Director, Sustainability, IHS Nigeria, Titilope Oguntuga, described the initiative as a reflection of the company’s commitment to advancing inclusive development by equipping persons with disabilities with the tools and opportunities needed to build resilient livelihoods.
She explained that rather than providing short-term financial assistance, IHS Nigeria adopted an asset-based approach by donating 50 pieces of business support equipment, including sewing machines, freezers, generators and hairdressing kits, to the selected beneficiaries.
According to her, the intervention is designed to create lasting value by supporting entrepreneurship, promoting self-reliance and strengthening household incomes, while contributing to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
In his opening remarks, the Chief of the Karonmajiji Disabled Community, Alhaji Sulaiman Muhammed Katsina, represented by the Secretary of the Community, Alhaji Mohammed Dantani commended IHS Nigeria for its commitment to empowering persons with disabilities through practical and sustainable interventions.
He described the initiative as a demonstration of genuine partnership with the community and expressed appreciation for the company’s continued engagement with the Association, noting that the donation of the equipment was a significant investment in improving the livelihoods of persons with disabilities and would create meaningful economic opportunities for the beneficiaries and their families.
The event brought together traditional rulers, government representatives, leaders and members of the Karonmajiji Disabled Community Association, implementing partners, including Field of Skills and Dreams Vocational Technical and Entrepreneurship (FSD VTE) Training Institute and other community stakeholders, reaffirming a shared commitment to promoting inclusion and sustainable community development.
Project Empower reinforces IHS Nigeria’s commitment to advancing sustainable development through strategic partnerships that promote economic inclusion, strengthen community resilience and create opportunities for underserved communities.
The Chartered Institute of Bankers (CIBN) and the Association of Corporate Communication and Marketing Professionals in Banks (ACAMB) have enjoined banks to further deepen and prioritize financial inclusion, women’s empowerment and sustained growth through strategic mandates and frameworks, aimed at closing the financial gap and empowering more small, and medium enterprise (MSME) owners.
Both organisations made this call during a courtesy visit to the newly invested 24th President and Chairman of Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Dr. Dele Alabi, Ph.D, FCIB, as part of plans to congratulate him on his investiture as well as seek a stronger alliance between both bodies.
The visit followed Alabi’s investiture where he unveiled his “IMPACT” Vision, themed “Consolidating Our Local Impact, Enhancing Our Global Relevance.”
The vision rests on six pillars: Inclusion across geographic, gender, and generational lines; Membership growth and quality; Professionalism and ethics; Accountability; Competencies and skills development; Technology, automation, and innovation. Other areas of shared interest, include women empowerment, financial inclusion and literacy, as well as MSME clinics, all of which are top on his agenda.
Alabi explained that under him, the institute will be prioritising financial inclusion and women empowerment, because of its realisation that women are often the primary financial managers and caregivers in families. Access to savings, micro-credit, and insurance acts as a safety net during crisis and allows them to significantly improve living conditions.
He added that CIBN would be happy to drive joint knowledge sharing and exchange sessions with CBN and ACAMB across various platforms. “Educating the public through public awareness programmes, with ACAMB as the rallying point, is central to what we do,” he noted.
ACAMB President, Jide Sipe, who led the delegation, spoke in unison with the CIBN president, as he noted that, closing the inbalances in financial access help economies grow faster, reduces inequality, and encourages greater civic participation by all.
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