Chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu, has received the TIME 100 Impact Award.
To celebrate, TIME hosted an invite-only gala on Monday, March 28, at the Museum of the Future in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The event featured appearances by all seven Impact Award honorees, as well model and entrepreneur Tyra Banks; actor and U.N. Goodwill Ambassador Kat Graham; Freetown, Sierra Leone Mayor Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr; motorsports racing driver Pierre Gasly, and other leaders, influencers, visionaries and members of the global TIME100 community.
Other honourees of the award are David Adjaye, architect and founder, Adjaye Associates; Sarah Al Amiri, U.A.E. Minister of State for Advanced Technology; Ellie Goulding, singer-songwriter and activist; Huda Kattan, entrepreneur and founder, Huda Beauty; Deepika Padukone, actor, producer and philanthropist; and Will.i.am, musician and entrepreneur.
Receiving his award and speaking to the crowd at the award ceremony which included celebrities, politicians and prominent business leaders, Elumelu stated;
The world is in need of people like us—more than ever before. We should pull resources together, we should commit now to help in any way possible in economically empowering others.
The TIME100 Impact Award recipient has spent his career advocating for economic empowerment in the less fortunate places in the world.
Speaking further, the Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist paid tribute to the “hard working young men and women in Africa who aspire to help their families and their communities.”
He shared his story of rising from a modest beginning to launching the Tony Elumelu Foundation in 2010, which is aimed at creating “significant opportunities and economic hope for others” while “helping redefine how all of us need to work together to uplift through the message of entrepreneurship.”
The foundation has given $5,000 each to 15,000 young entrepreneurs from 54 African countries as part of his effort to grow the entrepreneurial spirit in Africa and encourage economic development.
In addition to his philanthropic efforts, Elumelu serves as chair of the United Bank of Africa, where his vision for securing long-term investments from the private sector to drive economic development in Africa has helped create new job opportunities and turn the continent into a hub for innovation.
Elumelu stressed that Africa, and the world, need investment and opportunities more than ever, stressing;
In the 21st century, there’s so much poverty, sickness, and bitterness in the world. Our calling should be one that has to prioritize humanity.
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