Tony O. Elumelu Nigerian business leader and philanthropist./PHOTO ; The Tony Elumelu Foundation
Nigerian business leader and philanthropist Tony O. Elumelu has been awarded the 2025 Appeal of Conscience Award at the foundation’s 60th Annual Gala in New York.
The award was presented by the Appeal of Conscience Foundation (ACF), an interfaith organisation that recognises leaders who defend peace, human rights, and human dignity.
The award acknowledged Elumelu’s decades-long advocacy for ethical private-sector investment in Africa, an approach he calls Africapitalism.
Unable to attend the ceremony, Elumelu was represented by his wife, Dr. Awele V. Elumelu.
He dedicated the honour to “the thousands of Africapitalists across the continent who relentlessly create the Africa we envision,” and reflected on his rise from modest beginnings.
“I was not born with a silver spoon, I was not educated abroad, I inherited nothing. I was blessed with determination, but also luck,” he said in remarks delivered on his behalf.
The citation singled out the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the philanthropic arm of Heirs Holdings, as the practical expression of his philosophy.
Established in 2010 with a catalytic $100 million commitment, TEF has trained, mentored, and provided seed funding to more than 24,000 entrepreneurs across Africa’s 54 countries.
The foundation positions its work as a strategic investment rather than a charity, aiming to build resilient local economies and reduce the social pressures that drive migration and instability.
“Elumelu believes that sustainable prosperity must be driven by well-governed, competitive businesses that create jobs and opportunity at scale,” the foundation said in a statement.
His record as chairman of Heirs Holdings and as a leading figure at United Bank for Africa (UBA) whose businesses touch power, energy, healthcare, and financial services across multiple continents, underpins that conviction.
Combined, his ventures employ tens of thousands of people and have strengthened regional markets across Africa.
The award ceremony also recognised Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York, underscoring the ACF’s interfaith tradition of honouring diverse leaders who advance human dignity.
Elumelu’s dual recognition this year follows other international honours, including a May 2025 decoration from the President of Gabon, H.E. Brice Oligui Nguema, who named him Commander in the National Order of Gabonese Merit for contributions to Gabon’s economy and efforts to promote entrepreneurship across the region.
Observers say the accolades reflect growing global interest in Africapitalism as an alternative development model that links profit with social purpose.
Supporters argue that when investors prioritise inclusive growth and good governance, private enterprise becomes a durable engine of societal progress.
Critics caution that the model requires strong institutions and accountability to deliver on those promises.
For Elumelu, the message remains steady: economic empowerment is the path to dignity and stability.
He has repeatedly argued that entrepreneurship, when supported by predictable policies, access to capital, and quality education, can unlock broad-based prosperity.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s alumni network, say, acts as a multiplier by fostering mentorship, market linkages, and cross-border collaboration among African startups.
Such networks, they add, accelerate innovation and create durable value for local communities.
The Appeal of Conscience Award, now in its sixtieth year, reinforces that argument by placing business leadership alongside civic and religious commitments to human rights and peace.
The recognition is at once personal and programmatic, celebrating an individual while signalling the potential of private-sector-led strategies to shape Africa’s future and resilience.
