Africa is home to more than 20 dollar-denominated billionaires per the Forbes report index.
With fortunes made in oil, banking, telecoms, consumer goods, real estate, and technology, these business leaders have built companies that not only power economies but also stand among the largest employers of labour across the continent.
Yet beyond boardrooms and balance sheets, many of Africa’s wealthiest individuals have chosen to redefine their legacies through philanthropy.
From funding hospitals and universities to creating endowments that support entrepreneurship, education, health, and poverty alleviation, these billionaires are channeling their resources into transformative social impact.
While some of these philanthropists often give quietly, with little publicity, this report focuses on the most significant contributions that have been documented in the public domain.
Methodology
Nairametrics attempts to capture the biggest donors amongst African billionaires, leveraging on data available in monetary terms on their foundation websites as well as publicly verifiable coverage of such philanthropic acts as recognized by bodies such as Forbes, Bloomberg and the Times 100 within the period of the Covid-19 era, which elicited a lockdown in 2020 to present day 2025.
- Donation: $100 million+
An astute businessman, philanthropist, and industrialist, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Founder and Chairman of BUA Group, has embedded philanthropy into his legacy.
Beyond building one of Nigeria’s largest privately-owned conglomerates, Rabiu channels wealth through the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa), launched in 2021 with a $100 million annual pledge dedicated to health, education, and social development across Africa. His philanthropy is highly structured, focusing on infrastructure and systemic transformation.
Documented Key Donations
- $100 million annual ASR Africa Fund (2021–present): Half dedicated to Nigeria, half across Africa.
- $23.8 million Security Support Fund (2022): N10 billion to strengthen Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.
- $11.8 million Tertiary Education Grants (2021): N5.5 billion distributed across 22 Nigerian universities.
- $2.4 million to the University of Maiduguri (2021): For a Centre for Innovation and Product Development.
- $2.4 million to the University of Ibadan (2021): To enhance academic infrastructure.
- $2.4 million to Ahmadu Bello University (2021): Infrastructure and institutional strengthening.
- $2.4 million COVID-19 Response (2020): N1 billion to CACOVID for health infrastructure and food support.
- $500,000 USAID Partnership (2022): To strengthen TB, HIV, and gender-based violence prevention efforts.
- N7.5 billion Specialist Hospital in Kano (ongoing): A 200-bed teaching hospital project.
- N5 billion Teaching Hospital in Akwa Ibom: First of its kind in the state.
- N2.5 billion each to 4 states (2021): Tertiary Healthcare Development Grants in Sokoto, Ogun, Kwara, Edo.
