By Elizabeth Chukwuma
Barely one week after Heirs Holdings Launched Heirs Technologies, with a mandate to empower Africa’s digital transformation through innovative and locally tailored solutions and to provide value added services that will capitalize on top-tier technical expertise while guaranteeing accessibility locally, the Conglomerate was said to have moved a step further to Launch its first-ever Television Commercials, TVC, amid cheers from invited guests in Lagos, the nation’s Financial and Commercial nerve center.
The TVC, according to a guest who had witnessed the Launching programme, was very revealing as it showcases the Group’s diverse investments in power, energy, financial services, hospitality, real estate, healthcare delivery facilities and technology sectors of African economy.
The Company may have taken advantage of the Launching of the TVC, to highlight its commitment ‘’to driving positive change and sustainable development across the African Continent and beyond’’. Given its compelling narrative, guests at the Launching of the multi-million Heirs Holding TVC, had describe it as ‘’captivating audience worldwide, shining a spotlight on the company ‘s vision and commitment to improving live and transforming the 54 African countries including Nigeria, the most populous country in the Continent.
When Tony Elumelu, CFR, a multi-billionaire business mogul, founded Heirs Holdings in 2010, after making significant strides in reshaping the nation’s banking industry, many saw it as a welcome development.
Until he founded the company, the business mogul was said to have made history when he led the biggest merger in the sub-Saharan Africa at the time , combining Standard Trust Bank, STB, plc, with the older and more sophisticated United Bank for Africa, UBA, plc, a Pan African Bank, which at the time was Nigeria’s third largest Financial services institution.
In establishing Heirs Holdings, Elumelu, had said that his goal was ‘’to transform the African economy through strategic long –term investments in various sectors of the economy critical to the Africa’s progress’’. Mrs.Clari Green, the Company’s Group Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications, had said hat in its thirteen years of existence, the company has established a reputation for being ‘’consistent in creating value while driving Africa’s social and economic agenda’’.
She had alluded to the fact that Heirs Holdings has an investment portfolio which spreads across 24 countries worldwide , describing it as intimidating as the significant milestones it has achieved since it was Launched I 2010 . She had said that the spread confirms the company’s bold strategic initiative ‘’to focus on the African Continent and unlock its socio-economic potentials’’.
She had revealed that in 2011, the company identified thhe first strategic investment opportunity , acquiring a controlling shares in Transcorp, leading the Organization into an era of year on –year growth and expansion into the power sector.
She has confirmed that Transcorp Power had acquired 100% ownership and Management of Ughelli Power plc with 972 MW installed capacity, but the actual production is only 160MW, for now. An insider had said that the Power generation company had passed the five-year performance target of 60 MW, set for it in 2013 by former President Goodluck Jonathan’s government through the Bureau of Public Enterprices, BPE, by increasing the available capacity of the Ughelli power plant from160 MW to 701 MW within four years of taking over contro and management of the plant.
Als, last year, precisely towards the tail end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Administration, Transcorp Power, was said to have become the first major power generation company in Nigeria to be discharged from post-privitization monitoring by BPE.
In a related development, Afriland Properties plc, a real estate investee company of Heirs Holdings was said to have also grown in lips and bounds to over N12 billion which was said to have made it to be one of the largest land banks in Nigeria.
It was said to have found Avon Healthcare Limited, Avon HMO, which was said to have celebrated a decade of unwavering commitment to exceptional healthcare delivery services in 2023, impacting over 230,000 Lives through 2,500 hospitals across Nigeria and other parts of the world.
The Value News Investigations shows that he Healthcare Company, had paid the North American country of the United States, US, $32 million, equivalent of N24 billion in claims by the various Hospitals used across the world in 10 years.
There are indications that in 2015, the Conglomerate ‘s philanthropic arm , the Tony Elumelu Foundation , had Launched its Flagship Entrepreneurship Programme, committing over US $100 million ‘’to identify, train, mentor and fund’’ , 10,00 African Entrepreneurs over the last 10 years, across the 54 African countries .
At present the Foundation, was said to have surpassed its initial goal by directly funding 20,000 entrepreneurs and has provided over 1.5 million young Africans with access to training through its digital platform TEF Connect.
Heirs Holdings may have equally shown its financial worth and crave to invest in other sectors of the Nigerian economy as it was said to have successfully acquired Oil Mining Lease, OML, 17, from Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Total and ENI, in a $1.2 billion , described as the largest oil and gas transactions in the African Continent in 2021.
Note that OML 17, as currently being operated by Heirs Energy has a peak production level of over 80MMSCFD, of gas at its gas plant at Agbada, Rivers state. The company , according to informed sources had announced an expansion of its gas supply businesses, which may have informed why it is currently supplying gas to the newly Commissioned 188 MW power plant operated by Geometric Power Limited, located in Aba, Abia state. At present, the Heirs Energy company,also supplies gas to TransAfam Limited, with a capacity of 966MW and First Independent Power Limited, FIPL, with a capacity of 541 MW, including local distribution companies, gas based-industries and other industrial customers.
The company was said to have equally branched out to insurance where it was said to have Launched the first –ever digital insurance companies rebrand as ‘’Heirs Insurance Group, a formidable family of three insurance brands offering General Insurance, Life Insurance and Insurance broking services, to democratize the access to Insurance and drive financial inclusion.
Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and other major Blue chip Companies in the country had said that its commitment to simplifying the country’s insurance experience has led to the rollout of digital and mobile service channels , as well as Launch of innovative customer –first initiatives such as the first digital insurance Experience Centre.
The Heirs Holdings Authorities had said that 2024, under the current President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Administrations, it is shaping up to be an amazing year as it has continued on its track record of success.
Although, the year may have started on a sluggish note with a surge in market capitalization of its Nigerian Exchange, NGX, as listed investee companies skyrocketed to astounding N2.4 trillion , with two of the companies , UBA plc and Transcorp Group,’s hotel subsidiary, Transcorp Hotels, crossing the one trillion naira mark , joining the league of SWOTS. The Group was said to have orchestrated the successful listing of Transcorp Power plc , one of its power subsidiaries on the main board of NGX.
The move may not have only bolstered the company’s investment portfolio but had injected an additional N1.8 trillion on the market Capitalization of NGX. There are indications that in less than two weeks of its operations, Transcorp Power Market Capitalization grew to over N2.8 trn.
Indeed, with a combined generating capacity, of about 2,000MW, energy experts, believe that Transafam Power, Transcorp Group’s Power subsidiaries would account for at least 15.5% of the installed capacity in Nigeria in the near future.
