Onome Amuge
Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema, Gabon’s newly elected president,has bestowed the Commander in the National Order of Gabonese Merit, a prestigious national honour, on Tony Elumelu, the group chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
The award recognises Elumelu’s sustained contribution to the economic advancement of Africa, with particular emphasis on his efforts in boosting youth entrepreneurship and strengthening infrastructure development both within Gabon and across the continent.
Speaking at the presidential palace in Libreville on Monday, President Nguema commended Elumelu’s dedication to inclusive and sustainable development in Africa.
“Tony Elumelu is not only a visionary entrepreneur but also a committed friend of our nation Gabon. Through his Foundation and the UBA Group, he has consistently demonstrated that investing in Africa is not merely sound business practice – it is fundamental to our shared future. Today, we celebrate a leader whose actions continue to empower young Africans and inspire nations,” he stated.
Elumelu, who has made several high-level visits to Gabon in recent months, expressed his gratitude for the recognition and reaffirmed his commitment to supporting the nation’s development agenda.
“I am deeply honoured by this recognition. It reflects a shared conviction that African-led solutions, African entrepreneurs, and African institutions are the architects of this continent’s future. Gabon possesses immense potential, and I am proud that the Tony Elumelu Foundation and UBA Group can contribute to its realisation,” Elumelu said.
The recognition arrives at a pivotal juncture for Gabon as it intensifies its economic recovery efforts and prioritises inclusive growth under its new leadership.
Elumelu’s engagement in Gabon centres on infrastructure financing, deemed essential for long-term economic transformation, and youth entrepreneurship, championed through the Tony Elumelu Foundation. The foundation provides training, mentorship, and $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital annually to young Gabonese and African entrepreneurs.
The award also underscores the deepening financial partnership between Gabon and UBA, a pan-African banking group with a major presence across the continent and a key driver of financial inclusion and development.
Elumelu is currently the founder and chairman of Heirs Holdings, a family-owned investment firm with a mandate to improve lives and transform Africa through long-term investments in strategic sectors including financial services, hospitality, power, energy, technology, and healthcare.
He also chairs UBA, which operates in 20 African countries, the UK, France, the UAE, and is the only African bank with a commercial deposit-taking presence in the United States, serving over 35 million customers globally. In addition, he chairs Transcorp, Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate, with subsidiaries including Transcorp Power, a leading electricity producer, and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s foremost hospitality brand.
A prominent advocate for African entrepreneurship, Elumelu established the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) in 2010. The leading philanthropy aims to empower a new generation of African entrepreneurs, catalyse economic growth, eradicate poverty, and drive job creation across all 54 African nations. Since its inception, the foundation’s flagship programme has identified and supported 18,500 entrepreneurs and cultivated a digital ecosystem of over one million Africans, as part of a ten-year, $100 million commitment to funding, mentoring, and training young Africans.
Elumelu’s business ventures and the foundation are guided by his economic philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, particularly entrepreneurs, as the primary catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.
In 2020, Elumelu was recognised as one of TIME100’s Most Influential People in the World for his business leadership and his role in economically empowering young African entrepreneurs. He has also been honoured with Belgium’s oldest and highest royal order.
