Founder/Chairman, Heirs Holdings Group, Tony Elumelu has reiterated reasons private investors should invest and develop the continent.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Founder/Chairman, Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) reiterated the reasons in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, during a fireside chat with Chairman of the FII Institute, Richard Attias, on the topic ‘How Africapitalism drives Inclusive Growth’.
Elumelu was invited by Yasir bin Othman Al-Rumayyan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Attias to this year’s Future Investment Initiative 7th Edition: The New Compass.
The topic he spoke on drove home the importance of strategic long-term investments, cross-sector collaborations, values, and global partnerships, and showcasing the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s groundbreaking impact report.
While answering Attias’ question on “What is good in Africa today?”, Elumelu noted that “Africa is a continent of 54 countries not one country,” adding that “the most potent resource on the continent is our demography – populous, young, energetic, intelligent, and ambitious, it’s a huge workforce for the world.”
He explained that these qualities listed are opportunities for investors to come to the continent.
Elumelu further challenged Africans to develop their continent, stating that “no one can develop Africa except Africans,” therefore all hands must be on deck.
The serial entrepreneur, while stressing the need to prioritise the young ones who hold the future of Africa said, “It is not about the money in the bank account but how to deploy resources available to create opportunities for youths.”
On how to combine profitability with the inclusive model of gender equality, and climate change, amongst others, the chairman of Transcorp, said the group identified the importance of power to the development of the continent and invested in the sector while simultaneously making a profit from it.
Elumelu further encouraged Africans to break down the barriers in the continent, adding, “We need to wire our infrastructure in a way that encourages intra-Africa trade, we need to produce what our people need, we need to a bigger market… most importantly, we must empower our young Africans.”
While discouraging the migration of African youths from the continent, he noted that “Africa is open for investment…we do have challenges, but in spite of the challenges, opportunities are huge, and people should take advantage of the opportunity.”
FII7 is an interactive platform, designed to help investors recalibrate the pathways for their companies and for the global economy, while developing new strategies for understanding the greatest challenges and opportunities of this new era.
