From Small Businesses to Boardrooms: Tony Elumelu’s Case for Backing African Women

From his mother’s restaurant to women leading major African businesses, Tony Elumelu’s experience has shaped a conviction: investing in women’s enterprise and leadership is essential to Africa’s economic success.

Tony Elumelu’s earliest business lessons came from watching his mother run a small restaurant. Managing customers, balancing cash flow and finding the resolve to open again after a difficult day were part of the education that would shape his approach to business.

Speaking at the 25th WIMBIZ Annual Conference in Lagos on 6 November, Elumelu returned to that experience to make a wider argument: Africa’s competitiveness depends on giving women access to capital and opportunities to lead.

For Elumelu, CFR, Founder and Group Chair of Heirs Holdings, the case for women’s economic participation is grounded in the businesses they build, the jobs they create and the decisions they make at the highest levels of corporate leadership.

Capital that turns ambition into enterprise

That conviction is reflected in the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which he co-founded with his wife, Dr Awele Elumelu.

According to figures presented in his keynote, the Foundation has provided more than US$120 million in seed capital to 24,633 entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries over 15 years. Women account for 48% of those supported, selected on the strength of their business plans rather than through a gender quota.

Collectively, the supported entrepreneurs have created more than 1.5 million jobs and generated over US$4.2 billion in revenue, according to Elumelu.

Behind those figures are individual businesses whose growth creates opportunities for others.

Princess Adeyinka Tekenah received US$5,000 in seed funding from the Foundation in 2015, helping her establish Happy Coffee, a Nigerian coffee business sourcing beans from women farmers in Taraba State. Her enterprise connects business development with opportunities within a local agricultural value chain.

In Rwanda, Yvette Ishimwe received US$5,000 in 2016 to develop IRIBA Water Group, a business expanding access to clean drinking water. By 2024, IRIBA operated across Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, with 169 franchisees and 24 direct employees, 75% of whom were women.

Their experiences illustrate how investment in one entrepreneur can extend into livelihoods, supply chains and essential services.

Growing businesses, constrained access

These examples sit alongside a persistent challenge: women are building businesses, but access to institutional finance remains limited.

According to FATE Foundation’s State of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria Report 2025, 69.2% of surveyed female-led businesses reported growth, compared with 65.8% of male-led firms. Yet only 26.3% of female entrepreneurs accessed institutional finance, down from 28.4% in 2024.

The contrast strengthens the case for financial institutions and investors to examine how they identify and support women-owned businesses. Enterprise growth needs funding that allows businesses to acquire equipment, employ people, enter new markets and withstand setbacks.

Elumelu’s message at WIMBIZ placed responsibility on those who control capital to help translate entrepreneurial potential into lasting economic value.

Women shaping major industries

His argument extends to who leads established businesses and makes decisions about investment and growth.

Dr Awele Elumelu chairs Heirs Energies and Transcorp Hotels, placing a woman at the forefront of corporate governance in energy and hospitality. Her chairmanship of Heirs Energies is particularly significant in a sector whose investment decisions influence energy supply, industrial activity and national economic development.

Across the wider group, Owen Omogiafo serves as President and Group Chief Executive of Transcorp Group, Uzo Oshogwe leads Transcorp Hotels as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, and Somachi Chris-Asoluka leads the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

These appointments give practical expression to the position Elumelu advanced at WIMBIZ: women must have opportunities to shape major industries, alongside support to establish and grow their own enterprises.

Turning conviction into opportunity

As WIMBIZ marked its 25th anniversary, the challenge was to translate decades of advocacy into greater economic participation.

For business leaders, that means examining who receives funding, who is entrusted with responsibility and who has the opportunity to influence consequential decisions.

From the small restaurant that shaped his earliest understanding of enterprise to the women leading businesses across his investment portfolio, Elumelu’s case rests on a consistent principle: backing women expands Africa’s capacity to create prosperity.

The next step is for more institutions to turn that conviction into capital, appointments and opportunities.

About The Author

EDITOR

See author's posts