The Chairman of Heirs Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Transcorp Plc, Mr Tony Elumelu, has been praised by President Bola Tinubu for his Africapitalism drive as he clocks 62 today, Sunday, March 22, 2026.
In a statement on Saturday, Mr Tinubu described the economist, banker and philanthropist as an African business icon and a leading advocate of enterprise on the continent.
He hailed him for his resilience, commitment to excellence and unwavering belief in Africapitalism, which birthed the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), which has significantly empowered young Africans through entrepreneurship.
The President said the foundation’s entrepreneurship programme had trained about 2.5 million youths across 54 African countries and provided over 24,000 entrepreneurs with non-refundable seed capital of 5,000 dollars each.
He highlighted Mr Elumelu’s continued investment in youth development as critical to Africa’s economic transformation and job creation, joining family, friends and associates of the business leader in wishing him good health, strength and more success in his future endeavours.
TEF is rallying young entrepreneurs to power Africa’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) agenda ahead of 2030, according to the chief executive of the organisation, Ms Somachi Chris-Asoluka, during a virtual media parley on Saturday.
The media parley was held ahead of the 2026 TEF selection announcement scheduled for Sunday, March 22, to unveil the newest cohort of 3,200 young African entrepreneurs selected for this year’s TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
Ms Chris-Asoluka said the foundation was prioritising entrepreneurs whose businesses actively contributed to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as part of efforts to reposition Africa for accelerated development ahead of 2030.
While taking questions from journalists, she said the foundation’s selection framework placed strong emphasis on impact, ensuring that supported enterprises are not only profit-driven but also aligned with global development priorities.
She said that TEF encouraged applicants to clearly demonstrate how their business ideas would contribute to the SDGs, noting that such alignment is critical to closing Africa’s development gaps.
“We want our entrepreneurs to actively contribute to the SDGs so that by 2030, Africa will no longer lag, but will be able to meet and surpass these goals,” she said.
According to her, this focus is central to the foundation’s broader mission of fostering inclusive economic growth, job creation and sustainable development across the continent.
She said that entrepreneurs were assessed, not just on profitability and scalability, but also on their potential to drive measurable social and economic impact in areas such as education, healthcare, climate action and digital innovation.
Ms Chris-Asoluka said that the foundation believed Africa’s young entrepreneurs hold the key to advancing sustainable development, stressing that innovation from the private sector is essential to achieving long-term growth.
She said that TEF remained committed to supporting early-stage entrepreneurs with training, mentorship and seed funding, while ensuring that their ventures align with the continent’s development priorities.