Tony Elumelu has revealed that his first lessons in business came not from a classroom or a bank vault, but from watching his mother run a small restaurant that turned scarce resources into a family’s future.
The billionaire businessman and Chairman of the Tony Elumelu Foundation shared the story on Friday at the 25th annual conference of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) in Lagos .
Elumelu said his mother taught him financial discipline, risk management, cash flow, customer relations and resilience long before he entered the corporate world.
“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,” he said .
“I watched her turn very little into a living, and a living into a future for our children. That was my first business school.”
A Lesson in Women’s Economic Leadership
Elumelu said his mother’s influence shaped his conviction that women can lead African businesses, questioning why they still face barriers to funding 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 .
He also reflected on the role mentorship played in his own career, recalling how he was entrusted at 34 with leading a group of young Nigerians to acquire the struggling Crystal Bank.
He described the opportunity as a turning point, noting that someone had believed in his abilities and given him a platform to prove himself.
Elumelu said the experience strengthened his commitment to creating similar opportunities for young Africans and women through access to capital and entrepreneurship support.
The WIMBIZ conference, now in its 25th year, brings together women in management, business and public service across Nigeria.
