The philanthropist gesture of the President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, and Chairman, United Bank for Africa, UBA, Tony Elumelu were recognised and highlighted by Richtopia, a United Kingdom-based digital periodical that covers business, economic and financial news on Wednesday, as two of Africa’s foremost businessmen named 6th and 11th most charitable persons in the world.
Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and J.K Rowlings occupied the first three positions, while Oprah Winfrey and Elon Musk were in the fourth and fifth position, respectively.
Aside from Dangote, the Chairman, United Bank for Africa Plc, Tony Elumelu, was 11th on the list, making him the second Nigerian on the list.
Dangote recently endowed his Aliko Dangote Foundation to the tune of $1.25bn. The foundation was started in 1981 with a mission to enhance opportunities for social change through strategic investments that improve health and wellbeing, promote quality education, and broaden economic empowerment opportunities.
It was, however, incorporated in 1994 as a charity in Lagos. Twenty years later, it has become the largest private foundation in sub-Saharan Africa, with the largest endowment by a single African donor.
The primary focus of the Aliko Dangote Foundation is health and nutrition, supported by wrap-around interventions in education, empowerment and humanitarian relief, a statement said.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation TEF, was established in 2010 and is the leading philanthropy in Africa championing Entrepreneurship and Entrepreneurs across the continent.
In 2018, 54 African countries were represented and young African entrepreneurs met with business leaders, established entrepreneurs and policymakers to forge partnerships, share insights and fashion Africa-made solutions in order to accelerate the transformation of Africa.
TEF’s long-term investment is to empower African entrepreneurs a further push of Tony Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions Africa’s private sector and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the continent.
TEF has a $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor and empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over 10 years.
