Cape Town — A group of philanthropic foundations founded by a music industry billionaire who was an early promoter of successful hip-hop artists has announced a multi-million dollar donation to fight COVID-19 in Africa.

The ELMA Group of Foundations, which supports children's health and education initiatives from offices in New York, Kampala, Johannesburg and Cape Town, announced it would contribute more than $107 million to mitigate the virus' impact on under-resourced and vulnerable communities.

The foundations were founded on the initiative of the family of Clive Calder, who was born in South Africa and went on to establish companies in the music industry in South Africa, Britain and the United States. "The crown jewel of his empire,” reports Forbes, the business publisher, "was Jive Records, the record label behind many of the first commercially successful hip hop artists."

Although Calder played a major role in the industry, he takes a low personal profile as a philanthropist.

About a quarter of ELMA's COVID-19 allocation – $26 million – will go to South African efforts to fight the pandemic. Half of that has been donated to the Solidarity Response Fund established by the South African government.

ELMA's announcement said its South African foundation will work with a range of other donors, including the actor Charlize Theron's Africa Outreach Project, to provide personal protective equipment and other support to more than 120,000 community care workers.

“The global COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented crisis for the African continent and requires a momentous response if we are to recover from the devastation it has and will cause,” said Bernadette Moffat, excecutive director of the ELMA Philanthropies Services.

“We must come together in solidarity, especially those with means, so that Africa can overcome and rebuild.”