Tonye Cole

Tonye Cole
Born
Tonye Patrick Cole

(1967-01-11) 11 January 1967 (age 57)
Abonnema, Eastern Region, Nigeria (now in Rivers State, Nigeria)
EducationHarvard Business School
University of Brasília
University of Lagos
King's Ely
King's College, Lagos
Corona School, Lagos, Nigeria
Occupation(s)Co-Founder, Sahara Group
Years active1996—2018
Political partyAll Progressives Congress
SpouseSylvia Cole
Children
  • Vanessa Cole
  • TJ Cole
  • Serena Cole
WebsiteOfficial website

Tonye Patrick Cole (born 11 January 1967) is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, he is the co-founder and former Group Executive Director of Sahara Group[1] an energy conglomerate with operations spanning the entire energy chain in Nigeria and neighbouring West African countries to East Africa and beyond. The Group operates in 38 countries around the world with over 4,000 employees and annual turnover of $11 billion. He was directly responsible for building the Group's global expansion and upholding her corporate governance principles, maintaining her status with global institutions like the World Economic Forum,[2] where he was a key member of Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), The United Nations),[3] where he was a pioneer member of the advisory board of the Private Sector Advisory Group for the UNDP Sustainable Development Group Fund (SDG-F), The African Philanthropy Forum[4] amongst others.

In addition to founding and running one of Nigeria's largest energy conglomerates, he also spearheaded and developed work carried out for the Sahara Foundation globally. He continues working to inspire the youth of Africa through charities such as his NGO, Nehemiah Youth Empowerment initiative,[5] which aims to influence change in Africa by bringing together young and emerging leaders to develop and implement practical strategies that will produce positive outcomes for millions and more recently, Behavioral Health Institute (BHI) that he set up for the study and management of behavioral health issues especially among the youths in Nigeria. In addition, he works closely with a number of foundations in Nigeria including the Down Syndrome Foundation, Slum-2-School Foundation, The Compassionate Center and various orphanages. He served as a board member for Atlas Mara, Bloomberg TV Africa, Enactus Nigeria, Nigerian Chamber of Shipping[6] and Digital Jewels.[7] He is also a member the Private Sector Advisory Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Fund (UN SDG-F).[8] and He was appointed to the World Bank Group's (WBG) Expert Advisory Council on Citizen Engagement.[9]

  1. ^ "Sahara Group's Tonye Cole appointed to World Bank Expert Advisory Council". Sahara Energy News. Retrieved 20 August 2018.
  2. ^ "Sahara Group's Tonye Cole joins WEF's Trust and Integrity Committee". The Eagle Online. 27 August 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  3. ^ admin (21 December 2016). "WEF: Partnering against Corruption Initiative". THISDAYLIVE. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  4. ^ "Tonye Cole". 2018 APF Annual Conference. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  5. ^ "I am Nehemiah Project". Growing Business Foundation. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  6. ^ "Nigerian Chamber of Shipping :: Governing Council". www.nigerian-shipping.org. Retrieved 7 June 2018.
  7. ^ "Tonye Cole marks 50th birthday in style". Vanguard. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  8. ^ Udo, Bassey (18 July 2016). "Nigeria's Sahara Group among global sustainable development goals advisory body - Premium Times Nigeria". Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Sahara Group's Tonye Cole appointed to World Bank Expert Advisory Council". 23 July 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2020.