Group Chair, Heirs Holdings | UBA | Transcorp | Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation

Prominent African businessman and philanthropist, and Group Chair of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, has called on African governments and private sector leaders to prioritise resilient infrastructure, human capital development, and green assets to drive the continent’s economic growth.

Elumelu, who also Chairs UBA and Transcorp, made this call in his keynote address at the African Caucus Meeting in Bangui, Central African Republic. His address was made available to The PUNCH in Lagos.

According to Elumelu, Africa’s infrastructure gap is a major obstacle to the continent’s progress. He emphasised the need for African governments to strengthen their fiscal capacity, drive efficiency, and unlock innovative financing to bridge this gap. “We cannot achieve prosperity without the foundations of modern development,” he said.

Elumelu also highlighted the importance of energy access in driving Africa’s industrialisation and economic growth. He noted that up to 70 per cent of Africans lack electricity, and that his home country, Nigeria, generates less than 7,000 megawatts for over 200 million people.

“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 his company, Heirs Holdings, Elumelu’s investments in Transcorp and Heirs Energies are working to solve Africa’s energy challenge. “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. This, he said, is an example of Africapitalism in action — private capital solving public challenges.

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 responsibility for the continent’s development. “Africa’s development is our responsibility. No one else will do it for us,” he said.

He also emphasised the need to prioritise energy and invest in 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 commended the growing focus of global institutions on Africa and applauded initiatives such as the IMF’s Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth and the World Bank’s “Mission 300” initiative to connect 300 million Africans to power.

In conclusion, Elumelu said, “Africa is ready. Let’s seize this moment — and build the prosperous, empowered continent our people deserve.” With the right investments in infrastructure, human capital, and green assets, Africa can unlock its full potential and drive economic growth and development.