NIGERIA – BUA group Founder and Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu has announced through a press statement the launch of an annual US$100 million Africa Endowment Fund starting from 2021.
The fund is made up of US$50 million to Nigeria, and the rest US$50 million to the rest of the continent. The funds are specifically geared towards improving education, health and social development across the continent starting with infrastructure and capacity development.
“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,” said part of the statement.
“The same pandemic that forced us humans to slow down, now forces our humaneness to square up.”
Abdul Samad Rabiu – Founder and Chairman, BUA group
The statement said that their broad focus is equipping facilities, their 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,” Rabiu said in the statement.
“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.”
Their first cohort for Nigeria will be N1billion (US$2.44m) each in grants to 6 universities in the 6 geopolitical zones in Nigeria, towards the initiation and upgrading of infrastructure, where applicable based on the results of extensive deliberation over the course of a year.
The universities in the first phase include Ahmadu Bello University, University of Maiduguri, University of Nigeria, University of Benin, University of Ilorin, and 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,” Rabiu added.
“Over the course of the year, I expect to also announce funding opportunities of US$50million for the rest of Africa – we are currently in talks with our stakeholders and other partners and announcements will be duly made.””
He concluded by pledging to continue to do what they can to support ongoing efforts by various governments to bridge the development divide across Africa.
