This is inspiring. this paper certificate of a thing..class of degree does not always reflect the ability and intelligennce of an individual. Let's focus more on what people can do and give them the opportunity than writing them off at mere sight of their certificates

If una don do ritual, una go begin dey tell us unnecessary inspiration up and down

I love this story . This is an inspiration to hard working youths . This story is as important as the foundation he established to nurture young Africans to success.

Last year, Jim Ovia the founder of Zenith Bank also told us how he started as a young man from nothing until by Providence he got to where he is. It was a very motivating story.

This is the kind of story we need or needed by youths instead of how celebrities or yahoo boys live a life of opulence which source of wealth they cannot defend.

Richiez:
If only we had 50 Tony Elumelus in Nigeria

With you and him, we only need 48 more.

TEYA:

University education is overrated. The bolded is not necessarily true. Many programmers are not university graduates and are way far better at coding than the typical first class graduates.

Including the owner of nairaland

But banking Job is stressful.

seguno2:


Including the owner of nairaland

The owner of nairaland is just one person. University degree (especially in computer science) is over rated.
Mark Zuckerberg: Not a graduate
Bill gates: Not a graduate
Steve Jobs: Not a graduate
And so are lots of their employees.

HardBishop:
who can trust a anambra person?. their business successes is often attached with juju.. he must have a covenant with an occultic kingdom.

chai. from sales boy to billionaire.... hmm. something is fishy

juju doesn't work

https://transcorpnigeria.com/newsroom/

Transcript: Tony Elumelu’s Opening Remarks at the JETRO Japan Africa Business Forum

The Chairman of Transcorp, Tony O. Elumelu’s Opening Remarks at the JETRO Japan Africa Business Forum in Yokohama, Japan

First, I must thank Chairman Nobuhiko Sasaki of the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) for organising this important event, and I specially commend his team for all the effort put into a seamless conference.

Just January this year, I hosted Mr. Ishige, the previous JETRO Chairman, in Lagos, at the United Bank for Africa (UBA) headquarters, Africa’s Global Bank.

Mr. Ishige requested that it was imperative that I attend the TICAD 7 conference to promote a new message of trade and investment between Japan and Africa, and he was absolutely right.

I stand before you as Chairman of the United Bank for Africa, Africa’s global bank with presence in 20 African countries as well as offices in the United Kingdom, France and the only Sub-Saharan African bank with deposit taking license in the United States of America.

https://transcorpnigeria.com/transcript-tony-elumelus-opening-remarks-at-the-jetro-japan-africa-business-forum/

TEF Foundation is an initiative that is awesome for any visionary entrepreneur.....I mean if you think you have what it takes to establish something that can also be source of employment to others likewise giving values, table your idea and be among those that can have access to $5000 grant. If you want to apply and want guidance on how to go about winning the grant, I have contact of one of the recent winner and TEF Alumni. I am not collecting a dime from you for this but please be the serious type. Send me DM via WhatsApp on 08140568019.

God bless

gisthabit:
Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu is a Nigerian economist, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Heirs Holdings, the United Bank for Africa, Transcorp and founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

According to him, below is a brief story of his success on how he rose from the being a poor and hungry salesman to a business mogul and a billionaire as a result of hard work and luck.

In business, the role luck plays in success and personal achievement is rarely discussed. If luck is mentioned, it is done with slight condescension, and usually dismissed as a product of hard work, not deserving significant attention. While hard work is paramount – and I have written extensively about the importance of working hard – history and my own experiences show that there is often a large element of success that hard work alone can not explain. It is simply not true that “you make your own luck.”

I started my career as a salesman, a copier salesman to be specific, young, hungry, and hardworking, but the reality was that I was just one of the thousands of young Nigerian graduates, all eager to succeed. How did I get from there to where I am now? Of course, hard work, resilience, a long-term vision – but also luck.

A year after earning a Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Lagos, I applied to join a new generation bank, Allstates Trust Bank. The bank’s one-page newspaper advertisement demanded a minimum of a Second Class Upper result, but I applied regardless, submitting a cover letter and filled out application with my Second Class Lower Economics result.

By a stroke of luck, my application was reviewed by the Chairman/CEO, a painstaking man who carefully read my cover letter and was drawn to the confidence in my words. “I know I may not have met the qualifying criteria for the advertised roles, but I am intelligent, driven, ambitious and I will make the bank proud. My Second Class Lower result does not demonstrate the full extent of my intelligence and ability, and I know I can do so much more.” He read those words and took a chance on me. Though “unqualified”, he decided to throw me a lifeline, an opportunity.

I was invited to join the shortlist, followed by a long series of interviews and even more tests. At the end of a very rigorous process, I received good news – I had a place as an entry-level analyst. Even now, I wonder: What if the Founder had not personally gone through my application? What if my application was rejected at the very beginning? What if I never got the opportunity to work at Allstates Trust Bank?

The story continues: Within 12 months at the bank, aged 27, I went from analyst to branch manager – the youngest ever bank branch manager at the time. I was hard working, energetic, creative and prioritised getting things done, but it was also good fortune that my bosses Toyin Akin-Johnson and Ebitimi Banigo took notice, and then, believed in me. They took a chance on me by appointing me as branch manager after an incredibly short time in the bank. They recognised in me the raw materials needed to make a good leader and were prepared to invest in me and my ability. My rise to Branch Manager within a short period is a great story but I know in my heart, I was lucky, as well as deserving.

This position of branch manager was a solid platform which launched me into several top leadership roles. When we, a small group of hungry, determined, young outsiders, took over struggling Crystal Bank, it was as a direct result of the preparedness and exposure that we received early from our superiors and mentors. Without the intervention and goodwill of these people in my career, I would not have been prepared to take on far greater roles. These learning opportunities laid the pathway to future achievements. To put simply, I was lucky enough to be identified and trusted so early on in my career, and this put me on a unique road to success. I keep this in mind – it is humbling and also drives much of what I do today.

When I left UBA as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 2010 to pursue other interests, I made a vow that through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, I would “institutionalise” luck and democratise access to opportunities for young Africans. I promised to leverage the success I have enjoyed, to spread luck and hope, provide opportunities and to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs to succeed. Without luck in my early career, I would not be the man that I am today. I am a leader and philanthropist today because I encountered people who gave me a chance early in my career. It has been a lifetime goal to pay this forward in a transformative and impactful way.

Over the past three decades I have spent as a banker, investor, and turnaround expert, I have had the opportunity to meet thousands of entrepreneurs, like me. Many of them are young people with incredible dreams and business ideas but without the experience or access to mentoring and support required to build successful businesses. But most importantly, they have not yet been exposed to the right opportunity.

Our entrepreneurs are hard at work across the continent, identifying gaps in the market for specific products and services, and bridging these gaps with their innovation and ingenuity. Yet, many of these budding entrepreneurs often lack the capital, the networks, the training, the support to take their small business to national or regional scale. All they need is a helping hand, some luck, someone to believe in them and take a chance on them.

This is what the Tony Elumelu Foundation offers: a platform that empowers African entrepreneurs with opportunities ranging from business management training to mentoring, to funding to networking – championing their cause and giving them a global voice to actualise their ambitions. This is precisely why I launched the USD$100 million Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs. Indeed, their businesses may become the next UBAs (United Bank for Africa).

So, when I am asked, “Tony, why are you and your family doing this? What is in it for you?” I smile and recount my own story of luck. Luck is real, it is powerful, and I am committed to spreading it as far as I can. I am a beneficiary of luck, and I am passionate about sharing it across the continent, to all 54 countries.

Source: http://gisthabit.com/tony-elumelu-the-sales-boy-turned-billionaire/

Simply audacious!

God Bless Tony Elumelu

One lesson here is;
LUCK plays an important role in the life of every successful people.