BUA Group establishes $100m Africa Endowment Fund

The Chairman, BUA Group, Isyaku Rabiu has announced the establishment of a $100 million Africa Endowment Fund for Nigeria’s social development and renewal.

In a statement announcing the fund, Rabiu said that the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative Africa Fund Endowment will focus on education, health and social development sectors, starting with infrastructure and capacity development.

He added that on an annual basis the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative will commit $50 million to Nigeria and $50 million to the rest of Africa.

He said: “Over the years as a corporate, and through the BUA Foundation, we have been actively involved in corporate philanthropy in various sectors – from health, education, community development, water & sanitation, sports, and even more recently, our work on COVID-19.

“However, with the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative and its annual $100million Africa Fund for Social Development, we are specifically extending this work to the Education, Health and Social Development sectors, starting with infrastructure and capacity development in these areas and supporting the efforts of various governments in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa.

“Our broad focus is equipping facilities, our researchers, healthcare practitioners and community-level service providers, with the aim of providing sustainable solutions for generations to come.

“They say life begins at 50; what they never tell you is that a pandemic can change your life at 60.  In that year 2020, when I turned 60, at least two million others turned into memories, taken by this deadly virus. I watched millions become numbers in a global death toll and ancestors in the world beyond.”

The same pandemic that forced us, humans, to slow down, now forces our humaneness to square up. The plans I once took time to construct, now take up all my time.

“The challenges are manifold in various areas of our lives, from education, on to healthcare, and throughout social development.

“Therefore, based on the results of extensive deliberation over the course of a year, our first cohort for Nigeria will be N1billion each in grants to 6 universities in the 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria, towards the initiation and upgrading of infrastructure, where applicable.

The universities in the first phase include Ahmadu Bello University, University of Maiduguri, University of Nigeria, University of Benin, University of Ilorin, and the University of Ibadan. These grants will be directed towards projects that will be delivered by the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative for the project duration.

“For accountability, we will present annual reports, with all activities overseen by a sterling board of trustees. More importantly, I am counting on you as beneficiaries, end-users and therefore custodians of these projects to hold the Abdul Samad Rabiu Initiative to account; contact, commend, recommend or complain to us on asrafrica.org.

“Over the course of the year, I expect to also announce funding opportunities of $50million for the rest of Africa – we are currently in talks with our stakeholders and other partners and announcements will be duly made.”

Suzan O/VANG