Tony Elumelu’s success story is a beacon of hope to those who feel incapable of ridding themselves of the shackles of poverty. It is an inspirational account of how a man who started out with nothing became one of Africa’s most powerful and influential bankers, economists, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists.
Tony Elumelu had no familial connections or vast network to wield when he started out. All he had was his certificates, a truckload of knowledge, and the firm belief that he could make a success out of any position he was given. He applied for a job at the now obsolete All States bank, assuring his interviewers that he would deliver excellent results even with little experience and qualifications on his resume. He was hired and speedily rose in ranks as the bank’s most outstanding regional manager in the 90s.
Elumelu’s successful performance outweighed that of all 34 All States bank branches combined.
The 1994-95 banking crises in Nigeria had rendered the old system of banking ineffective and the industry clearly needed an infusion of ideas to make it work again. This was a period of revolutionary change and an opportunity for emerging geniuses to take centre stage in the banking industry.
At this time, Tony Elumelu was working as the executive chairman of Linkage Assurance Limited, the insurance division of the conglomerate chaired by his boss, Ebitimi Banigo. He had been withdrawn from his 6-year position as a regional manager for the All States Bank, the banking affiliate of the Banigo’s conglomerate.
Tony Elumelu saw an opportunity in this crisis and informed Ebitimi of his intention to quit and start up his own bank. After that risky & bold move, he called up his closest friends, Chuka Onwucheka and Albert Okumagba, and promptly informed them that this was the time to kick-off their plan. He told them that the first step in their future takeover of the financial sector would be to launch a company that would make its profit from managing mergers and acquisitions of insolvent banks.
Tony Elumelu sourced funds from associates and family members, whom he knew would understand his vision, and then founded Banc Garanti Limited. Together with his group, he acquired the failing Merchant Bank of Commerce. As the executive director of this new bank, he applied his wisdom and experience in working out its challenges and renamed it Continental Trust Bank.
Moving forward, Tony Elemelu’s group shifted their focus to acquiring a distressed commercial bank and out of the several options, Cristal bank was chosen. Tony faced one of the biggest challenges of his banking career with this acquisition.
He had applied to CBN using a well ordered, well-written proposal to declare his intention to takeover Cristal bank. However, due to the turmoil and unrest in the finance sector of Nigeria, the approval was painfully delayed. As a resilient person who couldn’t take no for an answer or give in to defeat, he pressed on with his fall-back plan. Knowing that the ensuing tug of war between the finance ministry and CBN could potentially cripple his goals, he reached out to people who could help.
But as the deadline for bid submissions drew close, nothing had happened. Tony Elumelu travelled to Abuja, going back and forth between the ministry of finance and CBN, trying to make sure every requirement required for approval was met.
Half an hour to the deadline, nothing had been approved. Stark failure loomed over this acquisition and threatened Elumelu’s future but he never gave up. With some help, he paid the non-refundable sum to secure the ministry’s approval. Though this was a big win for the BGL associates, Toni didn’t rest or celebrate because he knew it was not over yet.
The next thing on his agenda was to raise the money he needed for the acquisition. So he began to source for the CBN-imposed N500 million share capital needed to acquire a bank. Finally, he got the capital, completed the acquisition process, raised the bank’s share capital to N750 million, and changed its name to Standard Trust Bank.
Tony Elumelu added another page to his success story when he quit the banking industry to pursue his next goal in 2010. He stepped down as CEO of United Bank of Africa and focused his goals on investments that would produce more wealth and have an impact on the African economy.
He founded Heirs Holdings, a pan-African investment company with interests in energy, agribusiness, finance, hospitality, healthcare, and real estate. A natural economist, Mr. Elumelu has always believed that long-term investments in these particular sectors of the economy spreads wealth within a community and ensures a stable and prosperous economy.
That same year, he founded the Tony Elumelu Foundation, an African non-governmental organization whose mission is geared towards improving Africa’s economy by empowering its private sectors. Each year, the foundation trains and then awards 10,000 dollars each to 1,000 budding entrepreneurs. This program was set-up with the goal of moving the continent from a position where it can put a stop to dependency on public sectors or foreign aids and be self-sufficient.
In April 2011, Heirs Holdings under the leadership of Tony Elumelu gained controlling stakes in the Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) and a month later took over as chairman of the board of directors. The corporation invests in important sectors of the Nigerian economy such as agriculture, hotels, energy, real estate and healthcare. He diversified the company’s interests and provided value to shareholders in a short space of time.
Two years later, Transcorp made front-page news when its shares soared to a staggering 186% after the 300 million-dollar purchase of a power generating plant. The privatised plant in Ughelli was an investment in the energy sector which generated over 120 million dollars in revenue within three weeks—1st to 22nd of November, 2013.
Heirs holdings company currently employs over 30,000 people and continues to invest in the lives of people in Africa and beyond.
Source: kunle Ben
