Connect with us

General

UBA Chairman Tony Elumelu Visits, Inspires and Challenges

Published

on

Mr. Tony Elumelu is a visionary Pan-African entrepreneur and philanthropist founder of Heirs Holdings; an African Investment Holding Company and the beneficial owner of the United Bank for Africa (UBA). UBA is the 9th largest commercial bank on the African continent with a global presence in New York, London and Paris. The fact that his Heirs Holdings is also present in twenty African countries is a good signal that the Nigerian economist, entrepreneur and philanthropist is a busy man. Nevertheless, Makerere University remained top on the agenda of his four day visit to Uganda.

The endless drizzles that preceded Mr. Elumelu’s visit to Makerere University on 11th April 2018 could only be a sign of the blessings that were to follow. Upon arrival, he was received by the Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe and ushered into the Council Room where he met with Members of Central Management and the leadership of the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS).
Accompanied by the Regional Executive Officer, UBA Eastern Africa Divisional Office, Nairobi-Mr. Manz Denga, UBA Uganda Managing Director-Mr. Johnson Agoreyo and other officials, Mr. Elumelu could not hide his elation at making his maiden visit to Makerere University.  

Prof. Nawangwe (L) embraces Mr. Tony Elumelu (R) upon arrival at Makerere University as UBA Uganda CEO-Mr. Johnson Agoreyo (background) witnesses

“I am honoured, pleased and happy be with you this afternoon” remarked the gentle speaking Mr. Elumelu, “It is a wonderful experience to be in Makerere University; a well known and one of the foremost Universities in Africa” he added.

He thanked the Vice Chancellor for the warm welcome and commended all Makerere staff for helping to advance research and knowledge not only in Uganda but on the entire African continent. He also thanked the University Leadership for admitting UBA into the Makerere community, noting that “Makerere’s 45,000 student population is a tip that we can do more!”

After signing the visitors’ book and receiving souvenirs of the Makerere neck tie and diary from the Prof. Nawangwe, Mr. Elumelu proceeded to the Main Hall, where he was greeted by thunderous applause from the staff and students who had convened to listen to his talk. “I am greatly humbled and pleased to see that the hall is overflowing and some people are still standing” he remarked good naturedly ”I thank you all for coming and hope that our interaction will be enriching,” he added.

Mr. Tony Elumelu (2nd R) receives the Makerere University necktie and diary from Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe (2nd L) after the courtesy call in the Council Room

The event took the form of a question and answer session moderated by the day’s emcee, Mr. Peter Igaga. He shared with Mr. Elumelu that a sample of questions from the audience had revealed that capital was an outstanding issue of concern for budding entrepreneurs and asked the UBA Chairman share his views on the topic.

Mr. Elumelu firstly admitted that entrepreneurship is not a simple journey to embark on as it calls for patience and resilience. He then emphasised that; an idea of what one wanted to do and a proper definition of how one wanted to go about doing it formed the basis for attracting capital. “Most billionaires in the world today did not start out with a handful of money. While it is important, do not kill your good ideas just because you don’t have a handful of money to start with.”

He further opined that entrepreneurs need not start big and all that was needed was seed funding to prove one’s concept or idea, which money can be raised from family, friends and a few willing venture capitalists. “Banks should be your last option as you start up” he warned, before adding “Banks by their nature are highly structured organizations and will only give you money to scale up your idea once it is up and running.”

Mr. Tony Elumelu (R) answers one of the questions posed by the day's emcee Mr. Peter Igaga (L) during his visit to Makerere University

On the culture of saving, Mr. Elumelu noted that this was one of the most important attributes of any successful entrepreneur. He reemphasized the fact that entrepreneurship is a long journey and those who venture into it must be very disciplined and avoid any luxuries and unnecessary expenses that would deplete initial revenue.

“I also advise you to get good mentors” he continued “at the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), we see capital as only one of the factors necessary for one to succeed. We also see training and mentoring as extremely important aspects of entrepreneurship. During our 12week mentorship programme, we ensure that you understand the basics of things such as good bookkeeping so as to prepare yourself for the future.”

Mr. Elumelu added that it was only upon successfully completing the TEF training that entrepreneurs saw their first coin of seed capital, which also comes with mentors. “Our aim is to create entrepreneurs not grant seekers. We want to train people who will be able to support other entrepreneurs in the future.”

Part of the audience that filled the Main Hall, Makerere University on 11th April 2018 to listen to Mr. Tony Elumelu

Since the setting of this discussion was at the region’s flagship University, the next topic sought clarity on the relevance of education to entrepreneurship, especially as a good number the world’s top billionaires had admitted to dropping out of school to focus on their ideas. Mr. Elumelu tackled this topic by first and foremost admitting that education, awareness and knowledge were all critical for entrepreneurship.

He however sought to create a distinction between two definitions of education; just to get a certificate and to gain a thorough understanding of subject matter, the former being the wrong one. He reaffirmed that education is a critical success factor in understanding ones trade, as it helps to sharpen the brain to better understand concepts. “Nevertheless, what is important is knowing what is critical for success. Discipline, hard work and thinking long term are extremely important factors for success” added Mr. Elumelu.

He urged all entrepreneurs never to let the fear of making mistakes prevent them from daring to try out their ideas. “You will make mistakes” assured Mr. Elumelu. “As a business, we have made some decisions that led us to venture into a partnership with a leading global company but in the end we had to write off US$200million after it didn’t take off as anticipated” he added, much to the hushed amazement of the audience.

UBA Founder and Chairman Mr. Tony Elumelu reassured budding entrepreneurs that they have all that it takes to become successful

Entrepreneurship without the right networks is a precarious journey to embark on. Tackling the question on the role of networks versus net worth, Mr. Elumelu shared that “Networks help you build net worth and net worth can help you extend your reach.” He stressed that it is important to have partnerships but these have to be matched with an alignment of interests. “Misalignment will not help you to build net worth or to succeed” added Mr. Elumelu.

“My net worth is not really important to me because it is just a figure; it is not about how much you have in the bank. What is important however is what you do with your net worth because at the end of the day you move from wanting to survive to changing lives and building a legacy” counseled Mr. Elumelu.

The day’s session would have been incomplete without a few testimonies from TEF beneficiaries. Mr. Joseph Ogwal is the Founder of Agro Supply Uganda Limited and a 2017 TEF Alumnus. His business was started with the aim of supplying smallholder farmers in the Acholi and Lango sub-regions with quality seeds. After completing his training with TEF, Joseph’s business is now able to supply 10,000 farmers with 30metric tonnes of quality planting seed and is projected to supply up to 50metric tonnes by the close of 2018. The company has additionally set its sights on supplying new markets in Rwanda and Tanzania.

Hon. Grace Oburu-a former legislator of the 8th Parliament and proprietor of Pakoi Mixed Farm Tororo shared her testimony

Hon. Grace Oburu is the proprietor of Pakoi Mixed Farm in Tororo District and a 2017 TEF Alumna. The former legislator of the 8th Parliament admitted to initially being chastised by her children for applying to a youth entrepreneurship competition. She however persisted and today, does not regret having made that decision, especially as with the help of the seed capital she expects to house 800pigs at her farm by the close of 2018.

“The Operation Wealth Creation has booked all piglets from my farm because I am rearing a good breed, I have offered employment to the previously jobless youth and young men in the community are learning how to make biogas for cooking which is saving the environment” added Hon. Oburu.

Addressing the audience, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe thanked Mr. Tony Elumelu for putting Makerere University especially the interaction with budding entrepreneurs at the top of his agenda. He noted that Mr. Elumelu was one of the most enterprising entrepreneurs in Africa.

An entrepreneur whose company Wok Too Energy Limited promotes solar powered cooking shares his testimony

“I want to thank you Mr. Tony Elumelu for being a very generous person by supporting youths in Africa, irrespective of where they come from, so as to emancipate Africa from poverty. We are now past the stage of political emancipation and now is the time for economic emancipation” said Prof. Nawangwe.

He noted that Makerere University has produced some of the region’s top leaders in all spheres of influence including former Presidents such as H.E. Mwalimu Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, H.E. Mwai Kibaki of Kenya, H.E. Milton Obote of Uganda, to mention but a few. Prof. Nawangwe also encouraged Mr. Elumelu to come back again and welcomed partnerships with UBA and TEF aimed at improving entrepreneurship skills among the students.

Article by Public Relations Office

 

Mark Wamai

Continue Reading

General

Special Exam Results -Diploma in Performing Arts 2025/26

Published

on

The results for the 2025/2026 special entry examination for the Diploma in Performing Arts held on Saturday 17th May, 2025. Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the Examination and have been recommended to the university’s Admissions Committee for consideration.

Mak Editor

Continue Reading

General

Mature Age Scheme Exam Results for 2025/2026

Published

on

The Office of Academic Registrar, Makerere University has released full results for the Mature Age Entry Scheme Examinations for the Academic Year 2025/2026 held on Saturday 14th December, 2024.

The Candidates who scored a final mark of 50% and above passed the examination and have been recommended by the Pre-Entry & Mature Age Committee to the University’s Admissions Board for Consideration.

The Aptitude Exam  Results for 2025/2026 Academic Year released in February 2025 can be found here.

Mak Editor

Continue Reading

General

Directorate of Graduate Training Completes Training of First Cohort Training of Supervisors

Published

on

By Moses Lutaaya

The Directorate of Graduate Training (DGT) has in collaboration with Centre for Teaching and Learning completed the training of the first cohort of Graduate Supervisors.

Participants were academic staff from two colleges namely, College of Engineering, Art and Design (CEDAT) and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES).

The three-day training that took place at the Telepresence Centre, Senate Building ended on Friday 20thJune 2025.

In his closing remarks to the participants, the Director of Graduate Training Prof. Julius Kikooma said, “This is the first cohort we are working together with the Center for Teaching and Learning to put together continuous professional development Program so that we are able to enforce the new teaching and learning policy.”

He said that before lecturers are allocated students for supervision, they must first go through this form of formal teaching and learning training to equip them thoroughly with certification required of supervision of graduate students.

“We are coming up with process to ensure that the certificates earned by participants allow you to supervise graduate students. This is the direction of the university and we must ensure that such trainings are concluded and completed successfully by all participants”, Prof. Kikooma.

Prof. Julius Kikooma – Director of Graduate Training

“We can only have you certified upon completing all the exercises in the training process. This is when you will be eligible to receive the work load for supervision”, He added.

“This training of Supervisors is going to be continuous so that all academic staff in colleges and schools are equipped. This first cohort is going to be our building block to the future trainings in the colleges.”

With such capacity building trainings, Prof. Kikooma said that the university is on the right path to achieving its targets in the new strategic plan of increasing the number of graduate students while progressively reducing the under graduate students.

He further hinted that, “We are in the process of writing a curriculum on this, which will be presented for approval before it is rolled out.”

He echoed all participants to share the knowledge they have acquired adding, “Share all you have learnt, do not keep it. Be open minded, have proper communication channels and the sky will be the limit for you.” 

Dr. Robinah N. Kulabako, The Head of Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at CEDAT welcomed the training adding, “This training is very pertinent. I have had the opportunity to supervise Masters and PhD students for over 15 years and I must say that the need to be subjected to this training cannot be over emphasized because there is need to learn, unlearn and relearn many aspects involved in the supervision process.”

She added, “We are moving towards knowledge-based supervision rather than experience-based supervision. This means we must be informed and equipped to be able to advise, guide and mentor to be able to lead a successful supervision journey for both supervisor and supervisee.”

Dr. Andrew Gilbert Were – a lecturer at CEDAT and a participant said, “It is important that all supervisors of graduate students receive this certification from Makerere University through a systematic training process that enables them to attain diverse skills to facilitate learning of graduate students from diverse cultures and with unique set of circumstances.”

“This training is long overdue. In fact, it was an oversight that we could be allowed to supervise students without undergoing supervisors’ training.”

Dr. Dorothy Ssebowa, The Director Centre for Teaching and Learning support- CEES said, “The training this time round has had a mix of early career professionals including Lecturers, Supervisors and Professors share experiences. We have learnt a lot more from experienced supervisors who have shared practices on how they have done supervision over the years.”

“The knowledge and experience-based approaches have made this collaboration very active, interactive and learner centered which has resulted into a collaborative learning from the interdisciplinarity of staff from CEDAT and CAES. The issue now is to continue with professional development across all levels.” She added.

The Makerere University Directorate of Graduate Training (DGT) in collaboration with the Centre for Teaching and Learning completed the training of the first cohort of Graduate Supervisors. This activity was supported by the iCARTA – Institutionalization of Advanced Research Training in Africa, a NORHED II Project at Makerere University.

Mak Editor

Continue Reading

Trending