Bayero University Kano (BUK), has announced the conferment of an honorary doctorate of Business on a foremost Nigeria’s business leader, philanthropist and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu at its convocation scheduled for June 15.
The honorary degree has already been approved by both the Senate and the Governing Council of the university.
In a letter addressed to Tony Elumelu, the Institution’s Vice Chancellor, Professor Muhammad Yahuza Bello said that the honor is in recognition of his innumerable and worthy contribution to the country as an economist, an entrepreneur, and a philanthropist.
The Vice-Chancellor said in the letter: “your philanthropic activities through the Tony Elumelu Foundation have reached every nook and corner of our nation and have impacted positively on many lives.
“Your efforts in the area of entrepreneurship are making immense contributions to the economy.”
Elumelu had earned bachelor’s degree in economics from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, and a Master of Science degree from the University of Lagos. He also received a Master’s degree from Harvard Business School, Boston, Massachusetts.
Tony O. Elumelu is an investor and philanthropist.
In 2011, he conceived the term Africapitalism, which has catalyzed the African entrepreneurial landscape, positioning the private sector as the engine for growth and empowerment, and prioritizing social and economic wealth creation.
In 1997, Tony founded Standard Trust Bank, which grew to be the fifth ranked bank in a 90-bank industry, in 8 (eight) years.
In 2005, Tony led the merger between Standard Trust Bank and the United Bank for Africa (UBA), which at the time was sub-Saharan Africa ex South Africa’s largest financial services transaction.
He became Chief Executive of the new group, implementing a Pan-African strategy that created one of Africa’s largest financial services groups. He serves as the Chairman of the UBA Group, now present in twenty African countries, Paris, London and New York, and the only African bank with a deposit taking presence in the United States.
He is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, a family-owned investment company, committed to improving lives and transforming Africa. Heirs Holdings’ portfolio spans the power, oil and gas, financial services, hospitality, real estate and healthcare sectors, operating in twenty-three countries worldwide.
He also chairs Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate, Transcorp, whose subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, the largest generator of electricity in Nigeria. Tony is the most prominent champion of entrepreneurship in Africa.
In 2010, he created The Tony Elumelu Foundation, the leading philanthropic organization empowering African entrepreneurs and promoting entrepreneurship in Africa. The Foundation’s flagship initiative, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs. The Foundation’s mission is inspired by Tony’s economic philosophy of Africapitalism.
Tony sits on a number of public and social sector boards, including the international advisory board of the Washington DC based think tank, the Wilson Center, and on the board of UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited. Tony also serves on the Global Advisory Council of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Centre for Public Leadership. He is a member of the World Economic Forum Community of Chairmen.
Source: Per Second News
