Gabon’s President Brice Clotaire Oligui Nguema on Monday bestowed the Commander in the National Order of Gabonese Merit, the nation’s highest honor, upon Tony Elumelu, Group Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. This prestigious award recognizes Elumelu’s significant and lasting contributions to Africa’s economic advancement, particularly his dedication to fostering youth entrepreneurship and infrastructure development in Gabon and throughout the continent.
President Nguema, speaking at the presidential palace in Libreville during the award presentation, lauded Elumelu’s commitment to inclusive and sustainable development in Africa. He emphasized Elumelu’s dual role as a visionary entrepreneur and a steadfast ally of Gabon, highlighting the positive impact of his Foundation and the UBA Group in empowering young Africans and inspiring nations through strategic investment in Africa.
Elumelu expressed his profound gratitude for the honor, reaffirming his dedication to supporting Gabon’s development goals. He emphasized the shared vision that African-led solutions, entrepreneurs, and institutions are crucial for the continent’s future, noting Gabon’s immense potential and the role of his foundation and UBA in unlocking it. He described the award as a symbol of collective African achievement and reiterated UBA’s and the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s commitment to fostering connections that bridge ambition and opportunity.
This recognition occurs as Gabon prioritizes inclusive growth and accelerates its economic recovery under its new leadership. Elumelu’s efforts in Gabon are centered on two key areas: infrastructure financing for long-term economic transformation and youth entrepreneurship through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which provides training, mentorship, and $5,000 in seed capital to young African entrepreneurs annually. The award also underscores the deepening financial partnership between Gabon and UBA, a prominent pan-African bank committed to financial inclusion and development.
Tony Elumelu is also the founder and chairman of Heirs Holdings, a family-owned investment firm focused on long-term investments in key African sectors such as financial services, hospitality, power, energy, technology, and healthcare. He chairs UBA, operating in 20 African countries, the UK, France, the UAE, and the US. Additionally, he chairs Transcorp, Nigeria’s largest listed conglomerate with subsidiaries including Transcorp Power and Transcorp Hotels Plc.
A leading advocate for African entrepreneurship, Elumelu established the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) in 2010. This pioneering philanthropy is dedicated to empowering the next generation of African entrepreneurs, stimulating economic growth, reducing poverty, and creating jobs across all 54 African nations. The foundation’s flagship program has supported 18,500 entrepreneurs and cultivated a digital ecosystem of over one million Africans, backed by a ten-year, US$100 million commitment to funding, mentoring, and training young Africans.
Elumelu’s business ventures and philanthropic work are driven by his Africapitalism philosophy, which champions the private sector and entrepreneurs as key drivers of Africa’s socioeconomic progress. In 2020, he was recognized as one of TIME100’s Most Influential People in the World for his business leadership and empowerment of young African entrepreneurs, and he also received Belgium’s oldest and highest royal honor.