When that influential international financial journal, World Finance, chose to feature young, sassy Nigerian entrepreneur, Dr Elizabeth Jack-Rich as the first African woman to grace its cover, it’s not because of her pretty face or striking figure. The motive was that at a very young age of 27, Elizabeth —Founder/CEO, ELIN Group Limited— has become the embodiment of Nigeria’s next generation of leadership and she’s on a mission to bring shared prosperity to her fellow citizens. Don’t call this lady a trophy wife. Sure, she married a billionaire —Tein T.S. Jack-Rich, Rivers State-born Oil baron and founder of BELEMA Oil Producing Limited, the first indigenous oil exploration and production company to emerge from the heart of Niger Delta— yet she is no bimbo. The mother of two has her own impressive credentials —brain and entrepreneurship. She is beautiful, intelligent and very arresting. Despite having access to all the money in the world and could afford to sit back and enjoy her husband money, Elizabeth —a truly Nigerian with partly Israeli blood running in her stream— in 2017, embarked on an entrepreneurial journey with the ELIN Group. And in just two years of operation, she has achieved great success as the business has grown into a conglomerate. With footprints across West Africa and the United States, her group’s investment portfolio touches several facets of Nigerian society, drawing on its core operating values of integrity, mutual respect, customer service, innovation and safety.
Despite year 2020 been a roller coaster of emotions for a lot of people amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Elizabeth has continued to grow her ELIN Group Limited into a thriving privately-owned conglomerate with diverse business interests in real estate, power generation, agriculture, gas utilization, mining operations, maritime and now the aviation sector.
Early this week, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority issued Operational Specifications and Air Operator Certificate (AOC) to her ELIN Group Limited, after the company met all the requirements to commence charter operations. Spotlight learnt that despite the strict process that sometimes takes many years to get, it took Elizabeth’s company less than two years to achieve. And the young female mogul was said to be determined not to take that for granted as she promised to keep her eyes on the ball by adhere strictly to the safety standards and global best practices as recommended by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. “I am grateful to God for this great privilege and honor to become the First Female AOC HOLDER and youngest CEO in the Nigeria Civil Aviation Industry. It’s not been an easy journey but only you God made it possible, despite all the hindrances, sleepless nights, crying, fasting and seize-less prayers ELIN AIR finally made it as one of the Operator Airlines in Nigeria. This journey taught me a lot, in summary “NEVER GIVE UP”. Thank you Jesus from a grateful,” she wrote on her various social media handles. Her ELIN Air with a young fleet of Challenger 604 and AW109E aircraft in a monumental leap recently signed a firm purchase agreement with Canadian aircraft manufacturer De Havilland Canada for three new Dash8-400 aircraft —each costing $8 million in additional value per aircraft— to further expand its operations and support Nigeria’s resource sector, particularly oil and gas operations. As founder and CEO of Elin Group, Elizabeth —a graduate of the University of Applied Science and Management, Porto-Novo, Benin Republic— has invigorated Nigeria’s economy and helped its most vulnerable citizens. Today, the entrepreneur and philanthropist is driving inclusive capitalism through multiple acts of charity and mentorship. Admirably, Elizabeth has not forgotten her roots as she remains passionate about giving back to others through her Elizabeth Jack-Rich Aid Foundation (EJ-Aid), a non-profit entity that supports numerous worthwhile causes, so they can benefit from the same opportunities she has enjoyed.