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February 1, 2022

Tony Elumelu, an African billionaire who made his fortune in banking, oil, and healthcare is set to explore  Caribbean markets as he looks for new investments.

 Elumelu, who is also chairman of United Bank of Africa (UBA), made the disclosure last Thursday, on the final day of the annual Jamaica Stock Exchange Investments and Capital Markets Conference.

“We have a customer base of over 25 million around the globe. We are not in the Caribbean, but that is something we will explore when I come to Jamaica with the CEO of UBA Americas operation,” Elumelu said, according to the Jamaica Gleaner.

“We must ensure that the cultural linkages that connect Africa and the diaspora are strengthened, not weakened,” he said. “Let us talk from the heart how to foster greater collaboration between Africa and the Caribbean and the role we all have to play.”

Elumelu indicated that he would meet with politicians on his visit to Jamaica later this year, at an unspecified date, in furtherance of his interest.

The investor gave no indication of specific sectors of investment exploration, only noting during questioning from conference participants that tourism was the best area of mutual investment between Jamaica and Africa.

United Bank of Africa is present in 20 African countries, including key financial centers of New York, Paris, London, Cayman, and Dubai. It is the only African bank with a deposit-taking license in America, the UBA chairman said.

Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu is a Nigerian economist, and philanthropist. He is a Business owner, citing Heirs Holdings, Transcorp and founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. In 2020, Elumelu was named on Time’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Various sources put his wealth at US$1 billion to US$2 billion.