Shettima: Elumelu’s Name Will Stand Out in History of African Banking
•We inculcate strong corporate governance, long term investment strategies in our businesses, says UBA chairman
Dike Onwuamaeze
As the Heirs Holdings (HH) inaugurated its “HH Group Directors’ Annual Summit” that convened over 100 HH Groupwide board members recently, the Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, declared that one name that would stand out in the history of Nigerian and African banking was that of the Group Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu.
According to Shettima, Elumelu had carved a niche for himself and engraved his name on the walls of banking and Africa’s entrepreneurship.
Shettima declared this during the HH Group Directors’ Annual Summit that was held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja from June 13th to 16th, 2024, which provided opportunity to reinforce the group’s strong governance practices and identify opportunities for innovation and impact, as well as celebrating business achievements.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the summit, Shettima remarked that, “when the history of Nigeria and indeed Africa’s banking history and revolution will be written, one name will stand out – having carved a niche for himself and engraved his name on the walls of banking and Africa’s entrepreneurship.
“Tony Elumelu has become an enigma, a banking colossus, a power industrialist, and a force that cannot be ignored. He is one of our own who believed in Nigeria and threw his heart into it. He is a Nigerian economist, entrepreneur and indeed a philanthropist, who has given life meaning to millions of Nigerians and Africans.”
Also speaking, Elumelu emphasised the Heirs Holdings’ mandate, which are to “build to last” and to “build for impact”.
He said: “Over the past decade, we have inculcated in our business the criticality of strong corporate governance practices. We only invest for the long term, strategically and patiently.
“These twin commitments are fundamental to our success; we are indeed building to last, redefining success in every sector we operate in, and demonstrating our purpose to improve lives and transform Africa.”
The summit drew on the experience of board members of investee companies from sectors where HH invests: healthcare, power, energy, technology, financial services, hospitality, and real estate.
Also present were trustees of the group’s philanthropy, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), which catalyses young entrepreneurs across Africa.
The HH Group Summit culminated in a closing ceremony and dinner, hosting influential figures across Nigeria’s public and private sectors, including the Vice President of Nigeria, His Excellency, Senator Kashim Shettima.
According to a statement titled, “Heirs Holdings Inaugurates HH Group Directors’ Annual Summit” the success and impact of Heirs Holdings reflected the philosophy of Africapitalism, which is, “the belief that the African private sector could change the course of African development, but that it must be committed to doing good and doing well.”
It added: “To date, HH investee companies employ over 40,000 people across 20 African countries, the United Kingdom, UAE, France, and the United States of America.
“The HH portfolio includes investments in Heirs Energies Limited, Africa’s leading indigenous-owned integrated energy company that produces over 40k bpd, which is transforming resource-based value chains, making African resources work for Africa; Heirs Insurance Group, championing financial inclusion and leading the digital transformation of the insurance ecosystem in Nigeria, with a mission to democratise access to insurance and the United Capital Plc, a leader in Investment Banking, Asset Management, Trusteeship, Securities Trading, Wealth Management, and Consumer Finance”
Others members of the HH portfolio are “the Transcorp Group Plc, which is Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate whose subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, one of the leading producers of electricity in West Africa and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s foremost hospitality brand; our healthcare brands, Avon HMO and Avon Medical, which are providing Nigerians with access to quality healthcare; Afriland Properties, a real estate investor and developer; technology brands, Redtech and Heirs Technologies, championing digital transformation; and the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Africa’s Global Bank, which serves more than 45 million customers globally, across four continents.
