Tony Elumelu at 55: Still giving

For many givers, receiving from others is a difficult thing to‎ do, even during birthdays, noted for inflows rather than outflows. On his birthday in March when he should have been receiving gifts and messages, Mr. Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holding, put the age-long tradition in reverse gear. But he was only being in his element, improving the lot of others.

There are many advantages of giving, including increased personal happiness, good health, helping others grow and more blessings.

Although none of them has been identified as Elumelu’s primary motivation, on his 55th birthday, he beamed a high-voltage smile suggesting the effervescence of joy from deep inside of him.

In a birthday message President Muhammadu Buhari noted, “As Elumelu turns 55 years, his greatest investment has been in the development of people and communities…”

Buhari commended him for “diligence, versatility and selflessness in championing the economic philosophy of “Africapitalism,” which “calls to action the need to grow businesses that cater for African interests, support governments and bottom-up development within the continent, by discouraging long term dependence on donor countries and philanthropic organisations.”

Indeed, that was what Elumelu spent most of the birthday doing – giving. “It has always been my belief that the true measure of wealth and significance is not the material wealth we amass, but in the legacy and impact that we are able to make,” he said in a message to thank God for making the year an eventful one, and to thank people for their messages.

The dead sea

Could the God factor be a ‎major push in philanthropy? Many experts have agreed that God blesses people to bless others, who in turn bless other people to keep blessings flowing among men. They observe that rather sustaining the flow of blessing, many affluent people, especially in Africa, build high walls to block the flow to enable them amass wealth in a primitive acquisition. But as some people say, these people become like the Dead Sea which has no marine life because it has no outflow of water. The basin has no outlet, so water escapes only by evaporation. As fresh water evaporates, salty minerals dissolved in the water get left behind. Over time, this process made the Dead Sea much saltier than ocean water. The lake’s saltiness means that larger organisms such as fish and frogs can‘t survive in it.

‎Counting his blessings, Elumelu said, it had been “a very eventful year, filled with opportunities and growth. It has been a dream to see the fulfillment of some personal ambitions and I am humbled because no milestone could have been possible without God’s blessings.”

The entrepreneurs

On that day, he passed on some of the blessings by reaching out to another set 1000 budding entrepreneurs from across 114 countries through the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF).

Details from the Foundation show that they are successful African entrepreneurs with the “most innovative, high-potential business ideas” for its 2018 African entrepreneurship programme, which is the fourth cycle.

Additionally, there are 200 entrepreneurs from a $1,000,000 partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross to support entrepreneurs in conflict and fragile zones of Nigeria (the North East where the Boko Haram scourge is felt and the Niger Delta); 40 pan-African entrepreneurs from a $200,000 agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); and 10 other Nigerians from a $50,000 partnership with Indorama.

CEO of TEF, Parminder Vir, said: “Over the next nine months, the entrepreneurs will receive online training and mentoring, and will use the skills acquired to develop business plans prior to receiving $5,000 in seed capital.”

“This will bring TEF’s total programme investment so far to $15 million in direct funding to entrepreneurs and $5.8 million in programme & technology development and operations.”

For the 2018 programme, there were as many as 151, 000 applicants. And Elumelu says, “The number and quality of applicants was outstanding – it illustrates the strength and depth of entrepreneurial promise and commitment on our continent. Selection is never easy, and we profoundly regret that we cannot help all.

“Our partnerships with the Red Cross, UNDP and Indorama, alongside ongoing discussions with other international organisations, reflect the growing global recognition of what we have known all along – that entrepreneurship is the most effective path to sustainable development on our continent and our programme is the model to follow.”

Hail of achievements

For Elumelu, an entrepreneur and a philanthropist, who is also the chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc and Transcorp Nigeria Plc, the birthday came in a hail of other remarkable achievements.

Before that day, it was announced that United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and China Development Bank (CDB), the world’s largest development finance institution, signed a $100 million seven-year loan agreement to finance the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Africa.

The $100 million loan is expected to enhance UBA’s capacity to provide access to finance to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the 19 African countries where UBA currently operates.

On the heels of that was a similar agreement between the bank and Agence Française de Development (AFD), France’s public and solidarity-based development bank, to utilise the EURIZ and ARIZ schemes offered by AFD to facilitate the financing of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups across the  countries where UBA operates in Africa.

There was also good company news for the bank. It delivered a strong 16 percent year-on-year growth in profit before tax to N105 billion, compared to N90.6 billion in the 2016 financial year.

The bank’s operating income grew to N326.6 billion, a 20.6 percent increase compared to N270.9 billion recorded in 2016. The audited results also showed that the bank’s total assets peaked at N4.07 trillion, translating to a 16.1 percent year-on-year growth from the N3.50 trillion recorded in the 2016 financial year.

In 2017, the bank’s customer deposits grew to N2.73 trillion, representing a 10 percent year-on-year growth over the N2.49 trillion recorded in the 2016 financial year.

But of all these, it would seem that the man some people call Mr. Africa because of his growing interest in the development of the continent, takes great delight in the development of entrepreneurs.

He said on his birthday, “It has always been my belief that the true measure of wealth and significance is not the material wealth we amass, but in the legacy and impact that we are able to make. This is why The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme means so much to me.

“As I wrote about earlier, we are soon to announce the winners of the inaugural 1,000 entrepreneurs and this is a landmark occasion I am delighted to witness around my birthday.

“Today, I celebrate my birthday through the empowerment of these African entrepreneurs and I hope that we all extend well wishes to the applicants. We celebrate you all.”