Tony Elumelu is undoubtedly a household name in the banking industry. Aside from making an impact in the financial sector, his activities as a philanthropist speak volumes, especially as the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Founded in 2010 by the Delta State indigene, it has empowered several entrepreneurial young Africans.
Philanthropy
The mission of TEF, according to its website, is achieved through ‘our programmes, research, communities, advocacy and convening, including the annual TEF Forum, the largest gathering of entrepreneurs in Africa, and TEFConnect, Africa’s digital hub for entrepreneurs. The foundation leverages its strong relationships in the public and private sectors to drive its mission of creating prosperity for all’.
Through its quest to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over 10 years, the foundation launched the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015 with a $100,000 commitment by Elumelu. The success of the programme has led to its partnership with institutions such as the United Nations Development Programme, the African Development Bank, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and United Bank for Africa Plc, to create meaningful and permanent impact across Africa.
The website added that so far, TEF has ‘trained, mentored and funded over 15,847 young African entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries through its entrepreneurship programmes, and provides capacity-building support, advisory and market linkages to over one million Africans through its digital networking platform, TEFConnect’.
The 2022 edition of the programme has also started in earnest as entries are currently been accepted from prospective entrepreneurs to qualify for the $5,000 grant, as well as mentorship, training and networking opportunities.
Proteges
Beyond being a business leader, Elumelu has also intentionally and strategically raised and empowered other leaders, many of whom are now regarded as shining lights in different areas of business.
One of them is Owen Omogiafo, the Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Plc, who credits Elumelu has been an important factor in her career progress.
In an earlier interview with Sunday PUNCH, she recalled her time as the Chief Operating Officer of TEF. She said, “My time at the Tony Elumelu Foundation expanded my vision of social impact and deepened my conviction that the private sector will ultimately be the driver of Africa’s socio-economic renaissance. It was my role as the COO of TEF to ensure that we stayed on course to achieve our mandate of facilitating the emergence of the next generation of business leaders in Africa through various capacity development programmes and outreaches.
“A key highlight of my time with the foundation was the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme— a $100m commitment— to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over 10 years from 2015. Through this initiative, TEF has directly empowered over 9,000 young African entrepreneurs across the continent with training, mentorship and seed funding. In turn, they have created employment opportunities for many others.”
Another business leader empowered by Elumelu is Phillip Oduoza, a former Managing Director of UBA and current Chief Executive Officer of Nova Merchant Bank. In an interview with Sunday PUNCH some years ago, Oduoza said, “We (I and Elumelu) have an excellent relationship. Tony is somebody who is well respected in the industry and we exchange a lot of ideas. He has an eye for identifying talents and he is very thorough. As busy as he is, he pays attention to details and makes sure he does not miss anything.
“He is a thoroughbred professional and a good leader. A lot of people who have worked with him don’t always want to leave him. He coaches people and is very humble. Despite his position, he didn’t make use of the executive elevator in the office. He preferred to mix with his staff.”
TEF beneficiaries
Elumelu has also showed that he is not xenophobic as TEF has empowered youths from various African countries, not just Nigeria.
One of the beneficiaries of the programme is Rwandan entrepreneur, Emmanuel Nturanyenabo. The founder and Managing Director of Teebah Film Village, a full-service video production company based in Rwanda, noted that help from TEF turned his business around. He said, “I started Teebah Film Village in July 2017 and since that time, I had been struggling mainly with how to increase sales, and how to improve our product.
“At some point, I learnt about the Tony Elumelu Foundation and spent about five weeks composing my application form because I was not happy with the results I was getting. I needed to win because by the time I applied, the business was making a loss and was almost closing at seven months. Luckily, by March 22, 2018, I was selected. I could not believe that I was selected out of about 151,000 Africans.
“TEF has connected me to new and competent networks of entrepreneurs and decision makers. It has displayed my creative capacity and today, my customers have strong confidence in our company, whose mission is to drive impact through local stories.
“TEF has a great curriculum and going through it has strengthened my entrepreneurial journey forever. By doing surveys, I got the answers to many problems that I had no clue about. I overcame the challenges I was facing, such as pricing and social media marketing. Being part of the TEF network is the best platform for any entrepreneur. We do businesses together from different countries and advise one another through online conferences. If we are making progress and impact in Rwanda, it is because I am a Tony Elumelu entrepreneur.”
Another beneficiary of TEF is Nigerian, Kofoworola Oyeleye, the CEO of Iyin Creative, whose aim is to ‘preserve and promote Africa’s rich cultural heritage through engaging and educative animated content’.
The company was established in 2013, and in 2015, Oyeleye became a TEF alumna. According to her, the impact of the programme has enabled the growth of her company, which employs creative animation and illustrations to develop a fun learning experience of African languages for children.
A post on the website reads, “She (Oyeleye) has further advanced her vision of promoting Africa’s cultural heritage by taking Iyin Creative to a total of 15 public and private schools. She has also donated a total of 1,000 language-learning resources to public schools. Her success is a testament of the unending benefits of being a TEF Alumni.”
South Africa’s Nneile Nkholise became a TEF alumna in 2016. According to the TEF website, Nkholise was also announced as one of the winners of an international award in the ‘African Entrepreneur’ category.
A post on her reads, “Over the years, Nneile has had a very interesting and commendable entrepreneurship journey, and one can easily see that impact has been at the core of all her activities.
“Her excellent track record has led to her being recognised by various notable platforms since her participation in the 2016 Tony Elumelu Foundation Programme. Nneile’s work in prosthesis fabrication using additive manufacturing has led to her being recognised as Africa’s top Female Innovator in 2016 and also South Africa Youth of the Year in 2017.
“Following her recent successes, she launched 3dimo, focused on the detection of sports injuries, prevention and rehabilitation. She creates digital models for athletes that are analysed and observes what happens when athletes train to predict injuries.
“For her ability to sustain her business which has now impacted thousands across South Africa, she acknowledges TEF for giving her a platform for her achievements.
The family man
Elumelu has shown that despite having flourishing businesses, he also creates ample time for his family. The father-of-seven is married to Awele Elumelu, a medical doctor, and he does not fail to show off his family, especially on social media. On his profile on Instagram, he describes himself as a ‘husband, father, mentor, entrepreneur, investor, chairman, Africapitalist’. He posts several pictures of his family, including his wife, mother, five daughters and two sons.
He also usually goes on vacations with his family to choice destinations across the globe.
This is often as he participates in social media challenges with his family and that has endeared him to many youths who can easily identify with him.
Sports and music lover
Despite being a boardroom guru, Elumelu is also a sports lover. During the ongoing African Cup of Nations competition, he made a post of himself watching one of the games of Nigeria’s national team, the Super Eagles, before they were knocked out of the competition at the Group-16 stage.
A fitness enthusiast, he often engages in exercises. This is even as he plays football with his sons as a way of bonding with them.
The successful entrepreneur also sees music as a form of relaxation, as he has been seen lip-synching to songs of some A-list musicians in the country.
Indeed, Elumelu does not just create time for business, he also bonds with youths and freely dispenses tips for success. His desire to contribute to the growth of African youths has led to an increase in the number of beneficiaries of TEF over the years.
Time 100
Consequently, his efforts have not gone unnoticed. In 2020, he was listed as one of Time Magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People’.
Prior to that, the Federal Government of Nigeria had conferred him with the national honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic in 2003. In 2012, he was awarded the national honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger for his service in promoting private enterprise.
Without a doubt, Elumelu is a leader par excellence who is genuinely committed to helping youths reach their full potentials.
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
