Tony Elumelu urges more women in African business leadership

Tony O Elumelu, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, has urged business leaders in Africa to boost female representation in corporate leadership. He pointed to the eight women who hold positions as Chairs and Chief Executives in the Heirs Holdings Group as proof that giving women leadership roles makes a big difference.

Speaking at the 25th annual conference of the Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) in Lagos, Nigeria, Elumelu challenged business leaders to go beyond just talking about gender inclusion. He wants them to show their commitment by making appointments, granting access to capital, and offering women chances to lead companies and institutions. “Women’s economic leadership is not a concession to fairness. It is a requirement for competitiveness,” he said. He believes that no economy aiming for real growth can afford to ignore half of its talent. While discussing the conference theme, Rooted, Rising, Ready: Born in Africa, Built for the World, Elumelu used the leadership structure of Heirs Holdings Group to show that opportunities should come from merit, not gender, location, or how one was born.

Currently, eight women are Chairs and Chief Executives across the Group’s businesses, which include financial services, investment management, hospitality, real estate, and entrepreneurship development. Elumelu pointed out the efforts of his wife, Dr Awele Elumelu, who is a Founding Director of Heirs Holdings. Her leadership covers healthcare, insurance, hospitality, and energy. Dr Elumelu chairs Avon HMO, Avon Medical, Heirs Insurance Brokers, Transcorp Hotels Plc, and Heirs Energies. She also co-founded the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Other notable leaders are: Dr Fumbi Chima, Chair of Heirs Technologies; Agatha Obiekwugo, Chair of Afriland Properties Plc; Mrs Foluke K. Abdulrazaq, Vice Chair of Transnational Corporation Plc; Owen Omogiafo, President/Group Chief Executive Officer of Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp); Uzo Oshogwe, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc; Somachi Chris-Asoluka, Chief Executive Officer of Tony Elumelu Foundation; Catherine Nwosu, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Africa Prudential Plc; Dr. Odiri Ogini, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of United Capital Asset Management; Adetola Fasuyi; and Esther Adeola Balogun, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of UCEE Microfinance Bank.

Elumelu believes that these appointments show how companies can create stronger organizations by recognizing talent, developing leaders from within, and giving women paths to executive and board-level roles. “I did not do it for a headline. I did it because they were the best people for the jobs,” Elumelu said. He also highlighted The Tony Elumelu Foundation, which has given over US$120 million in seed capital to 24,633 entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries over 15 years.

It is important to highlight that women make up 48 percent of these beneficiaries. Together, these entrepreneurs have created more than 1.5 million jobs and brought in over US$4.2 billion in revenue. This supports his belief. The Foundation’s entrepreneurship program shows Elumelu’s wider philosophy of Africapitalism, which promotes private-sector-led growth that brings both economic success and social benefits.

Through Africapitalism, he believes African businesses and investors need to open doors to more opportunities, strengthen institutions, and unlock the continent’s entrepreneurial potential. “Opportunity in Africa is still distributed by accident of birth, of geography, of gender. My life’s work is to make it distributed by merit instead,” he said.

Drawing from his experience in building businesses across various sectors, Elumelu asked other corporate leaders to look at their own leadership structures and think about what stops qualified women from moving forward. “If I can do it in power, in hospitality, in banking, in insurance, in healthcare, and in oil and gas, so can others?” he asked, urging business leaders to make women’s progress a clear priority in their leadership.

Speaking to the next generation of African women, Elumelu told them not to wait for anyone’s permission to seek leadership, start businesses, or take charge of economic chances. He called on WIMBIZ and the broader business community to keep pushing for women’s progress.

“Advocacy got women into the room. Capital will get them to the head of the table,” he concluded.