Tony Elumelu at the WIMBIZ event in Lagos. Photo credit: Christabel Ndoeche
Billionaire businessman Tony Elumelu has credited his mother, who ran a small restaurant, with teaching him some of the earliest lessons that shaped his business journey.
Elumelu said watching his mother turn limited resources into a living for her family taught him important business principles, including risk management, cash flow, customer relations, discipline and resilience.
He shared the story on Friday while speaking at the 25th annual conference of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), held in Lagos.
Recalling his childhood, the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation said, “I did not start with capital. I started with a mother, a mother who ran a small restaurant and worked harder than anyone I’ve ever known.
“I watched her turn very little into a living, and a living into a future for our children. That was my first business school.
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“My first lesson in risk, in cash flow, in customers, in discipline, in hard work, in resilience, in getting up the next morning when the day before had gone very badly, came all from her, a woman.”
He said his mother’s influence also shaped his views on women’s ability to lead businesses, questioning why women continued to face barriers to capital and recognition.
“When people ask me whether women can lead African business, I find the question strange because in my own experience, they already do. We have simply not given them the capital, the title, or the credit they deserve,” he said.
The businessman also said his career had been shaped by people who gave him opportunities, recalling how he was entrusted at the age of 34 with leading a group of young Nigerians to acquire the struggling Crystal Bank.
He described the opportunity as a turning point, saying someone had believed in him and given him the chance to prove himself.
Elumelu said his experience reinforced his commitment to expanding access to opportunities, particularly for young Africans and women.
The Punch
