Prominent African entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Elumelu, Group Chairman of Heirs Holdings, has urged African governments and private sector leaders to prioritise resilient infrastructure, human capital development, and green investments to accelerate the continent’s economic growth.
Elumelu, who also chairs UBA and Transcorp, made the call during his keynote address at the African Caucus Meeting in Bangui, Central African Republic.
Elumelu identified Africa’s infrastructure gap as a key barrier to the continent’s development.
He stressed the need for governments to boost fiscal capacity, enhance efficiency, and leverage innovative financing solutions to close the gap and accelerate progress.
“We cannot achieve prosperity without the foundations of modern development,” he said.
Elumelu underscored the critical role of energy access in advancing Africa’s industrialisation and economic growth. He pointed out that as many as 70 per cent of Africans lack electricity, citing Nigeria—his home country—as an example, where less than 7,000 megawatts are generated for a population exceeding 200 million.
“If we are to industrialise, create jobs, and participate meaningfully in the global AI revolution, we must invest aggressively in energy — from renewables to cleaner gas-based solutions,” he said.
Through Heirs Holdings, Elumelu is addressing Africa’s energy challenges via strategic investments in Transcorp and Heirs Energies.
“We are generating power, exporting it through the West African Power Pool, and using gas from our oil operations to power our plants,” he explained.
He described this approach as a practical example of Africapitalism—where private capital is deployed to tackle public issues.
Elumelu also emphasised the importance of investing in Africa’s youth. “No resource is more valuable than our people — especially our youth,” he said. Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, he has empowered over 24,000 young entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries, trained 1.5 million youth, and catalysed 1.2 million jobs.
In his call to action, Elumelu urged African leaders to take ownership of the continent’s future. “Africa’s development is our responsibility. No one else will do it for us,” he declared.
He stressed the urgent need to prioritise energy and invest in the continent’s youth. “Power is everything. No industrial revolution can happen without electricity. We must prioritise energy. Without power, there can be no progress,” he said.
Elumelu also welcomed the increasing attention from global institutions towards Africa, praising efforts such as the IMF’s Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth and the World Bank’s “Mission 300” initiative aimed at connecting 300 million Africans to electricity.
