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| Tony Elumelu |
With this donation, Mr. Tony Elumelu has joined the league
of African titans of philanthropy, who are redefining corporate giving in
Nigeria.
The Chairman of Visafone Telecommunications, Mr. Jim Ovia,
and a business mogul, Arthur Eze, also recently donated N1 billion each for the
rehabilitation of victims of the recent flood disaster.
TEF, established by the former Group Managing Director/Chief
Executive Officer of United Bank for Africa (UBA), is the vehicle being used to
reach out to the less privileged in the society and build capacity for young
entrepreneurs on the continent.
It was set up as a pan-African venture in August 2010 to
finance promising business start-ups and SMEs on the continent, deepen public
private partnerships, and mentor a new generation of business managers.
Elumelu, while announcing the donation, said that government
should not be left alone to cater for the victims and called on corporate
organisations and multinationals to come out fully in the joint task of
providing relief to the victims.
According to him, these organisations make their profits
from the society and it is time to give back to the society that has helped
them in wealth creation.
Commenting on the new wave of philanthropy in Africa, Howard
Jones of Investment Security Trust also stated: “This is a new phase in
philanthropy, coming from Africa. It is a welcome development. It is also a new
phase in corporate giving, coming from young African entrepreneurs. It is a
highly commendable move that should be lauded by all and sundry.”
President Goodluck Jonathan recently pledged government's
support and collaboration with TEF in private sector initiatives that are aimed
at boosting employment generation; increasing national competitiveness;
encouraging social giving; and facilitating access to finance.
Jonathan made the pledge when he hosted Elumelu and the TEF
Advisory Board in Abuja recently, stating that relevant government institutions
would be asked to work with the foundation in these areas.
Elumelu is also Chairman of Heirs Holdings Limited, an
African investment company deploying proprietary capital for the long term in
the most promising sectors of the continent, and Tenoil Petroleum and Energy
Services Limited.
Immediately after the flood disaster, the Federal
Government, as a stopgap measure, announced the disbursement of N500 million to
the highly impacted states, N300 million to the moderately impacted ones and
N200 million to the least impacted states, to enable them cushion the effects
of the flooding.
Thereafter, it set up a 34-man Presidential Committee on
Flood Relief and Rehabilitation co-chaired by Aliko Dangote and Olisa Agbakoba,
which organised in Abuja, a dinner to raise funds for the victims of the
flooding during which over N12 billion was realised.
Dangote was the highest donor, having donated N2.5 billion
to the flood victims.
The committee has undertaken an assessment tour of many
affected states, including Edo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa.
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