Afrinvest says it has repaid Elumelu's $1m loan from 2011
- Afrinvest says it has fully repaid a $1 million personal loan Tony Elumelu gave the firm in 2011.
- Group MD Ike Chioke said the money helped the firm survive after the global financial crisis.
- The repayment was made in June 2026, and Chioke thanked Elumelu in a letter dated October.
Afrinvest (West Africa) Limited says it has fully repaid a US$1 million personal loan it received from billionaire investor Tony Elumelu in 2011, at a time the investment firm was struggling to stay afloat after the global financial crisis.
The repayment was made in June 2026, according to a letter of appreciation dated October 14 and signed by Afrinvest's Group Managing Director, Ike Chioke. The letter has since been made public.
Chioke said the money came at a point when the firm was trying to rebuild and raise fresh capital, and that the loan helped it survive a very uncertain period.
What Chioke said
In the letter, Chioke told Elumelu that the loan was a vote of confidence in him personally, not just in the business.
"You lent me US$1 million of your own money," he wrote, describing the decision as significant at a time when the firm's future was unclear.
He said Afrinvest has since grown into a diversified financial services group serving more clients and contributing to Nigeria's capital market, and that the outcome showed Elumelu's faith was justified.
Chioke also said Elumelu was delighted when he told him in June that the debt would finally be cleared. He described the repayment as more than settling a bill: it was about honouring a commitment to someone who stood by him when it mattered most.
He tied the gesture to Elumelu's push to widen access to money and opportunity for young African businesses, often described as "democratising" luck through the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
"I consider myself an early beneficiary of that same idea," Chioke wrote, noting that the help came long before the foundation began backing entrepreneurs across Africa at scale.
Why it matters
For everyday Nigerians, the story is a rare public look at how private money moves behind the scenes in Nigerian business, and how one lender's decision can keep a company and its jobs alive.
It also touches on a familiar problem: many small businesses say they cannot get affordable credit, especially during downturns. Chioke's account suggests personal trust and relationships often fill gaps that banks leave.
There was no indication of any dispute over the loan or its repayment.
