Elumelu Challenges World to Invest in Africa, Not Just Give Aid

(Tony Elumelu. Photo by The State House, Abuja)

Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, has bluntly told global leaders that aid programmes cannot build African industries and that the continent's economic transformation depends on private capital being deployed by investors who understand local markets.

Speaking at the Darryl G. Behrman Lecture on Africa Policy during the United Nations General Assembly, Elumelu said aid provides temporary relief but cannot create lasting industries or replace domestic capital at work.

The core problem, he argued, is how the world perceives Africa.

Treating the entire continent as a single high-risk entity ignores the reality of 54 separate countries with distinct economic activity and opportunities for handsome returns when foreign investors partner with credible local operators.

He urged foreign venture capital firms, pension funds and development finance institutions to work directly with African financial institutions to fund infrastructure and trade corridors linking African countries.

Youth entrepreneurship, according to Elumelu, forms a pillar of continental security.

Tackling youth unemployment reduces irregular migration and prevents social instability.

His Tony Elumelu Foundation has committed $100 million toward this goal, providing $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital alongside business training to young entrepreneurs in rural and urban areas.

Elumelu called on philanthropies, multilateral agencies and corporations to help scale these small businesses.

He backed the African Growth and Opportunity Act while noting that future trade arrangements should examine what African manufacturers actually spend to produce goods and ship them to American buyers.

His closing argument for why the world should care was sharp: poverty anywhere threatens economic peace and security everywhere.

His message to leaders was simple.

Stop treating Africa as a problem requiring aid management.

Start treating it as a market worth funding with private capital.