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 an energy conglomerate with operations spanning the entire energy chain in Nigeria and neighboring West African countries to East Africa and beyond. The Group operates in 38 countries around the world with over 4,000 employees and an annual turnover of $11 billion. He was directly responsible for building the Group’s global expansion and upholding its corporate governance principles, maintaining its status with global institutions like the World Economic Forum, where he was a key member of the Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (PACI), The United Nations), 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 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, 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 several 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, and Digital Jewels. He is also a member of the Private Sector Advisory Group of the United Nations Sustainable Development Fund (UN SDG-F). He was appointed to the World Bank Group’s (WBG) Expert Advisory Council on Citizen Engagement.
Biography
Tonye Cole was born in Port Harcourt, Rivers state on 11 January 1967. He attended Corona School, Victoria Island, and later King’s College, Lagos before proceeding to King’s Ely, Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom. He is also an alumnus of the University of Lagos where he bagged a bachelor’s degree in Architecture and Engineering, and then a Portuguese Certificate from Universidade de Brasilia, Brazil. He is also a graduate of Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program in 2014. The Brazilian architectural firm Grupo Quartro SA in Goiania Brazil was where he started his career as an Architect from 1990 to 1992. He was also involved in the design and implementation of the urban planning and city development of Palmas, the capital city of the state of Tocantins miles away from South America. He was also the architect responsible for the design of The Ministry of Justice Building, Palmas, Tocantins, and the various residential houses in Goiania, Palmas, and Brasilia among others. Tonye returned to Nigeria in 1993 and was quickly employed as the Director of Operations with the Nigerian office of Empressa Sul Americana de Montagens S.A.(EMSA) a Brazilian Civil Engineering Company from 1993 – 1996, which was allegedly the 7th largest engineering firm in Brazil that was awarded a World Bank–financed water project valued at about S5.8m for the Lagos Water Corporation. Mr. Cole is an ordained minister of the Redeemed Christian Church of God and leader of Team Nehemiah. A body within the church that is responsible for delivering the vision of the church in transforming the Redemption Camp in Nigeria into a modern city. He is a motivational speaker, writer, teacher, and mentor. He is the author of “Morning Reflections” a daily devotional published in 2013. He is the son of former managing director of the Daily Times Newspaper and former Ambassador of Nigeria to Brazil Patrick Dele Cole.] He is married to Dr. Sylvia Cole and blessed with three adult children.