Heirs Holdings Founder & Group Chair, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, was in the United Arab Emirates as part of a distinguished delegation of African business and philanthropic leaders, attending at the personal invitation of His Excellency Badr Jafar, the UAE’s Special Envoy for Business and Philanthropy and a member of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Advisory Board. The visit reinforced Africa’s growing relevance in global discussions on development, investment, and philanthropy, and highlighted the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s internationally recognised impact in empowering young African entrepreneurs.
During the visit, the Group Chair advanced the strategic mission of connecting African entrepreneurship with Gulf investment and deepening partnerships capable of accelerating economic transformation across the continent. On December 6, he participated in a high-level roundtable discussion in Dubai and held audiences with His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of the Dubai Culture & Arts Authority. He concluded the day at a private dinner hosted by His Excellency Badr Jafar.
The following day, he travelled to Abu Dhabi for discussions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs alongside Bill Gates, before an audience with His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, at the Yas Marina Circuit, where he later attended the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
The mission strengthened the global credibility of African-owned institutions such as Heirs Holdings and also reflected the Group’s vision of Africa: creating value, earning global respect, and leading its own transformation.
The UAE has established itself as a global hub where continents, cultures, and capital intersect, and the Group Chair’s visit underscored Heirs Holdings’ long-standing commitment to deepening Gulf–Africa collaboration. In recent years, the Group has advanced this relationship in notable ways: UBA became the first Nigerian bank to open a branch directly from Nigeria into the Gulf in 2022, and last year, the Tony Elumelu Foundation partnered with the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation to empower 1,000 African entrepreneurs.
The UAE engagements brought together a powerful assembly of African leaders whose work continues to shape the continent’s economic and social trajectory. Among them were Aliko Dangote, Mo Ibrahim, Abdul Samad Rabiu, Johann Rupert, Strive and Tsitsi Masiyiwa, and Patrice and Precious Motsepe—eminent figures whose investments and philanthropic commitments reflect Africa’s economic strength and global relevance. Somachi Chris-Asoluka, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, accompanied the Chairman, representing the Foundation’s transformative work and the thousands of entrepreneurs whose successes continue to validate the Africapitalism philosophy.