Nigerian billionaire to increase investment footprint in Uganda

Kampala. Nigerian billionaire investor Tony Elumelu has said he plans to make additional investments in Uganda.
Ranked number 26 on Africa’s Forbes rich list, Mr Elumelu’s Heirs Holdings, owns a significant stake in United Bank of Africa (UBA), which has a subsidiary in Uganda. Speaking at a dinner at the Kampala Serena Hotel on Monday where he met with business leaders and entrepreneurs in Uganda, Mr Elumelu said: “There are many opportunities in this country and we are going to invest more in Uganda. The presence of UBA is just the beginning.”

He was, however, non-committal on what sectors he will be looking to invest in. Heirs Holdings is a conglomerate that has business interests in energy, real estate, banking, stock brokerage, technology, hotels and agriculture.
“I am confident about the potential to growth in this country. We are looking at all the sectors at the moment beyond the financial services industry. My coming to Uganda also revealed that the entrepreneurial drive in Africa can move this continent forward,” he added.
Mr Elumelu had earlier privately met with President Museveni and Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime-Mutebile on his one-day visit to the country.
He had just returned from the Global Entrepreneurship Forum, where his foundation, the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and Entrepreneurs’ Organisation (EO) committed to lead the Spark Global Entrepreneurship initiative.

Spark is a coalition seeking to mobilise organisations, companies and investors that collectively generate more than $1 billion (about Shs3.5 trillion) in private investment to finance emerging entrepreneurs by the end of 2017.
“We all know entrepreneurship, anywhere in the world, is not easy nor is success guaranteed. All stakeholders – the private sector, governments, NGOs and donors - must make a commitment to use their respective powers to address the hurdles facing African entrepreneurs. That is what Spark is all about,” Mr Elumelu said.

Mr Elumelu, in December 2014, launched a $100 million (about Shs 334 billion) 10-year fund to finance entrepreneurs by a minimum of $5,000 (aboutShs16.7 million) and $10,000 (about Shs33.4 million).
Forty-five Ugandans were among the first 1,000 Africans to be picked this year to benefit from the fund. He met the five Ugandans on Monday, advising them to create jobs. and boost Uganda’s growth.

Profile

TONY o. Elumelu, BIllionaire investor
Tony O. Elumelu is an economist by training, an entrepreneur and philanthropist.
Footprint. He is the founder and chairman of Heirs Holding, a privately held investment firm with interests in the power, oil and gas, financial services and real estate sectors across Africa. He is also chairman of Transcorp, Nigeria’s largest listed conglomerate that has business interests in the agribusiness, hospitality and energy sector including Sea drill Nigeria Limited

Career. In his early career, Elumelu made a name for himself when he acquired and turned around Standard Trust Bank a top-five player in Nigeria.
In 2005, his corporate reputation as an African Business Leader was sealed when he led the largest merger in the banking sector in Sub-Saharan African to acquire United Bank for Africa (UBA). In five years he transformed it from a single- country bank, to a Pan African institution with more than seven million customers in 19 African countries.
In 2010, Mr. Elumelu established The Tony Foundation, which champions African entrepreneurship.
In January 2015, the foundation launched the $ 100 million Tony Elumelu Entreneurship Programme to seed and support 10,000 African entrepreneurs over the next decade.

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