Empowering a New Generation for Inclusive Growth

For Africa’s growth to be fully unleashed, our booming youth population serves as a launchpad to fully harness its potential. Our young ones are brilliant, energetic, resourceful, and with the right environment and support, the African continent will benefit from their ideas and innovation.

Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Heirs Holdings Group has pioneered a platform focused on unlocking the potential of African youth by fostering entrepreneurship on the continent, creating jobs, and facilitating economic empowerment. We are proud of the TEF Impact Report launched this week – a compendium of impact stories and data, meticulously documented by independent, expert third-party researchers, which highlights our flagship $100 million Entrepreneurship Programme and its contribution to the advancement of Africa’s socio-economic development.

Beyond TEF, Heirs Holdings in many ways supports the growth of our continent through long-term investments in Africa’s most strategic sectors. The United Bank for Africa (UBA), present in 20 African countries, Europe, The Gulf, and North America, facilitates everyday transactions for small businesses, families, individuals, and communities, enhancing global trade and boosting the African economy. UBA’s recent results and impressive track record serve as a true testament to the value we bring to all stakeholders.

Building on this, the Heirs Holdings Group Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu CFR, was in New York where he joined other global leaders at the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78) themed “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.” Mr. Elumelu served as a voice for Africa with a message focused on youth empowerment for inclusive growth.

Below is a breakdown of his participation:

Sunday, September 18:
Tony O. Elumelu CFR had a catch-up meeting with his friend, United States Senator, Chris Coons.

Later in the day, he joined current and former Prime Ministers and Presidents, Heads of State and Government, and global women parliamentarians at the Women Political Leaders (WPL) 10th Anniversary Celebration Gala Dinner in recognition of WPL’s many achievements over the past decade.

The day ended with a private dinner hosted by Badr Jafar, CEO, Crescent Enterprises, and his wife, Razan Al Mubarak.

Monday, September 18:

The Heirs Holdings Group Chairman attended the TIME 100 event hosted by Jessica Sibley, CEO of TIME, and Hans Vestberg, Chairman and CEO of Verizon, tagged Closing the Digital Divide: The Importance of Digital Equity. At the event, speaking from personal experiences, he spotlighted some of the importance of bridging the digital connectivity divide between Africa and the rest of the world.

“I see first-hand the importance of digital connectivity, and I also see the negative impact of the little divide that we have.”
– Tony O. Elumelu, CFR

He was hosted by GPE, UNICEF, the Kenyan Government, and the Roger Federer Foundation at the Global Partnership for Education high-level dialogue that focused on investing in education systems for sustainable development and children’s well-being.

All through the day, the Heirs Holdings Group Chairman engaged in several meetings, including meetings with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria; Gerd Müller, Director-General of UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO); and Ahunna Eziakonwa, UNDP Regional Director for Africa.

Tuesday, September 19:

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) hosted a breakfast roundtable in collaboration with UNDP and UNICEF GenU, at the UBA America head office on Fifth Avenue. The roundtable launched The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme Impact Report, themed: A Decade of Impact, as well as the #BeGreenAfrica Initiative, a first-of-its-kind Green Entrepreneurship Programme designed to address African youth unemployment, in partnership with UNICEF Generation Unlimited (GenU) and IKEA Foundation.

During Mr. Elumelu’s welcome address, he highlighted the critical role the Foundation has played in stimulating local economies across the African continent by driving poverty eradication, catalysing jobs creation in all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment.

“We wanted African solutions because we know that African solutions will help solve African problems.”
– Tony O. Elumelu, CFR

Later in the day, he attended the Secretary Hilary Clinton Executive Roundtable themed, ‘Unlocking technology to create a thriving workforce’, an intimate lunch with global leaders.

Mr Elumelu was also at the Global Business Coalition for Education Luncheon, themed “From Early Childhood to the Climate Crisis: Leveraging Education to Create Shared Value”, hosted by Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and his wife, Sarah Brown.

At the Clinton Global Initiative Spotlight on Philanthropy, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, was a panelist alongside Dr. Carmen Rojas, CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, in session titled “Shifting the Power: How New Philanthropic Approaches Can Transform the World of Social Impact”, moderated by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Jonathan Capehart. His discussions focused on the significance of economic empowerment through entrepreneurship in the fight to eradicate poverty.

“…We need to play our own role in helping to democratise luck, in helping to empower a generation of entrepreneurs, young ones, male and female on the continent, who will help to develop and transform Africa. That is the underpinning of Africapitalism.”
– Tony O. Elumelu, CFR

This was followed by a meeting with Al Kelly, Chair and Global CEO, Visa.

Wednesday, September 20

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) hosted UNGA delegates to a food festival and networking event at the ‘UBA Taste of Africa’ – a vibrant celebration of Africa’s cuisine, culture, and diversity held at the UBA America Office.

Later in the day, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, engaged in a 1-on-1 fireside chat with Devex Founder, Raj Kumar at NeueHouse in Madison Square Garden. During the session he talked about the opportunity and the need to prioritise African youth to ensure the kind of progress necessary to achieve the SDGs, also sharing on the key to achieving political stability in Africa and the essential nature of power.

“Less than 40% of people on the African continent have access to electricity. We cannot talk about Africa’s transformation in the 21st century without talking about fixing electricity.”
– Tony O. Elumelu, CFR

After the session, Mr Elumelu met with Mr. Purna Saggurti, the Vice Chair of Bank of America and Chairman of Global Corporate & Investment Banking, Bank of America, before attending the Presidential US-Nigeria Business Dialogue.

On the same day, he also met separately with Larry Fink, the Chairman/CEO of BlackRock, and Ajay Banga, the President of the World Bank.

Thursday, September 21

Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, had a business meeting with Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer followed by a media interview with Richard Quest at the CNN Studios, also meeting with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, GCON, former Finance Minister of Nigeria currently serving as Director-General of the World Trade Organisation.

Click to watch:

Mr. Elumelu ended the day by attending the Global Africa Business Initiative (GABI) Unstoppable Africa dinner, part of a two-day event aimed to boost Africa’s standing in the global economy and establish the continent as the foremost destination for business, trade, and investment.

Friday, September 23

The Heirs Holdings Group Chairman was live on Bloomberg TV with Jennifer Zabasajja and Alix Stees on Bloomberg Markets at the Bloomberg L.P Headquarters. He discussed critical sectors in Nigeria and youth empowerment across Africa.

Throughout his meetings and commitments at the UNGA 78, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, was accompanied by an esteemed team of leaders within the Heirs Holdings Group; Sola Yomi-Ajayi, ED, International Banking, UBA; Dupe Olusola, CEO, Transcorp Hotels Plc; Somachi Chris-Asoluka, CEO, TEF; Fatou Assah, Advisory Board Member, TEF; and Iruka Ndubuizu, Director of Partnerships, TEF.

Through our collective efforts as a Group, Heirs Holdings continues to embody the new Africa narrative as we keep the Africa agenda on the front burner in the current global discourse.