Economist, philanthropist and entrepreneur, Anthony Onyeamaechi Elumelu, this week graces the studio of African Voices, where he will share his inspiring story of sheer grit and excellence, which catapulted him from a mere salesman to a serial entrepreneur and mentor to thousands of budding African businessmen.
The magazine programme of the Cable News Network is bankrolled by digital telecommunications solutions provider, Globacom, and will be aired on DSTV on Friday at 8:30am and on Saturday at 11:30pm, 4:30pm and 7:30pm.
Other repeat broadcasts come up on Sunday at 4am, 8:30am and 7:30pm, with more repeats on Monday and Tuesday at 4:30am and 5:30pm respectively.
Born on March 22, 1963 to parents who were entrepreneurs, Tony Elumelu, as he is widely known, was raised in Jos, Plateau State, though he is from Onicha Ukwu in Aniocha North Local Government Area of Delta State.
His grit and raw confidence earned him his first job as a salesman at the defunct All States Trust Bank after earning his Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Lagos.
Though the qualifying criterion had stipulated a 2:1 degree for applicants, Elumelu still applied anyway in spite of the fact that he had a Second Class Lower degree.
His cover letter, which read: “I know I may not have met the qualifying criteria for the advertised roles, but I am intelligent, driven, and ambitious and I will make the bank proud. My 2:2 degree does not demonstrate the full extent of my intelligence and ability, and I know I can do so much more,” caught the attention of the bank’s helmsman who decided to take then 27-year-old Elumelu under his wings.
He not only excelled in his duties, he rapidly rose through the ranks, becoming a branch manager in no time.
He proceeded in 1997 to convince a small group of investors to take over Crystal Bank, which was then struggling to stay afloat.
From that bold step, Elumelu became the Chairman, United Bank for Africa, Heirs Holdings and Transcorp.
He subsequently founded The Tony Elumelu Foundation in 2010 as a foremost philanthropy in Africa championing the cause of entrepreneurship and sponsoring outstanding entrepreneurs across the continent.
Elumelu is a holder of the national honours of Commander of the Order of the Niger and Member of the Order of the Federal Republic.
In 2012, he was recognised as one of Africa’s 20 Most Powerful People by Forbes magazine.
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