Heirs Holdings and the Tony Elumelu Foundation have announced a provision of $5,000 in seed capital to young African entrepreneurs, aimed at stimulating economic growth across the continent.
This initiative was revealed during the Future Investment Initiative, New Africa Summit in Saudi Arabia, where the Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Founder of the foundation, Tony Elumelu, addressed the critical role of entrepreneurship in tackling high unemployment rates and infrastructure challenges in Africa.
Elumelu shared these insights in a LinkedIn update on Monday, following a fireside chat moderated by CNN host Eleni Giokos.
““In demonstrating Africapitalism, our group, Heirs Holdings, partners with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, our family-funded philanthropy committed to empowering young African entrepreneurs with $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, world-class mentorship, and business training to help them build thriving businesses.
“To date, we have empowered 20,000 young men and women who have gone on to create 400,000 direct and indirect jobs — this is our way of changing Africa,” he stated.
The Africapitalism advocate’s optimism is grounded in his own entrepreneurial journey and the successes of those supported by the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Africapitalism asserts that Africa’s private sector must take the lead in driving economic development across the continent.
However, Elumelu warned that merely having access to capital will not resolve all the challenges entrepreneurs encounter.
“If you want to develop, you must improve access to electricity, reform taxation systems, and create policies that ease challenges for entrepreneurs to succeed,” he said.
Elumelu emphasized that while the private sector plays a crucial role in providing funding and economic opportunities, governments must create an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. He stated, “Too often, entrepreneurs are stifled,” and called for strategic public-private partnerships to drive Africa’s advancement.
He also praised the Chief Executive Officer of the FII Institute, Richard Attias
for creating a platform that amplifies Africa’s voice on the global stage.
