Elumelu: Africa’s Next Growth Story Must Be Owned by Africans – and Women

Africa’s next economic transformation must be financed by Africans, driven by private enterprise and powered by women, Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, has declared.

Delivering the keynote address at the 25th Annual Conference of the Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), Elumelu challenged African business leaders, investors and policymakers to move beyond conversations about the continent’s potential and take ownership of its economic future.

“The world needs what Africa has,” he told delegates, insisting that the continent’s greatest asset is not its oil, lithium, agricultural land or mineral wealth, but its people.

And women, he argued, represent one of Africa’s most underutilised economic assets.

Speaking on the conference theme, _“Rooted, Rising, Ready: Born in Africa, Built for the World,”_ Elumelu identified African capital formation, reliable electricity, industrialisation, regional trade and strong institutions as critical pillars for unlocking the continent’s economic opportunities.

He also delivered a pointed message to corporate leaders: Africa cannot compete globally while systematically underutilising half its talent.

Africa’s opportunity – and the ownership question

Elumelu described Africa’s demographic advantage, mineral resources and expanding consumer market as one of the greatest commercial opportunities of the century.

By 2050, the continent’s working-age population will have expanded significantly, positioning Africa as a major source of global labour, consumption and economic growth.

But he warned that natural resources and demographic advantages alone would not deliver prosperity.

Drawing comparisons with Singapore and South Korea, he argued that economic transformation comes from building institutions, developing human capital and converting resources into productive industries.

He identified three major constraints holding Africa back: inadequate electricity, limited domestic value addition and insufficient investment capital.

“Factories cannot run without electricity. Hospitals and schools cannot function without it. And the AI economy everyone is talking about has two basic ingredients: power and connectivity,” he said.

On industrialisation, he challenged African countries to stop exporting raw commodities and importing finished products.

“Why ship raw lithium, raw cocoa, raw crude out of this continent? Refine it. Process it. Brand it. Then sell it to the world.”

He said Africa must transition from being a supplier of raw materials to becoming an active participant in global value chains.

African capital must finance African businesses

A central message of Elumelu’s address was the urgent need to mobilise domestic savings and institutional investment to finance African enterprises.

He argued that aid, while historically important in supporting vulnerable populations, cannot substitute for investment capable of creating businesses, jobs and ownership.

“The future is investment and trade, not aid,” he declared.

He called on African pension funds, insurance companies, banks and family offices to increase their investment in businesses across the continent.

However, he stressed that capital formation requires a supportive business environment, consistent economic policies, trusted financial institutions and growing domestic savings.

“Africa will not just offer solutions, but finance those solutions,” he said.

Citing Heirs Holdings’ investment in Seplat Energy, the London- and Nigerian-listed energy company, Elumelu highlighted the potential of African investment to create value for African investors.

He noted that Seplat’s share price had risen from approximately £3 to £9 since his investment, with its market capitalisation reaching about $7 billion at the time of his address.

He also referenced Aliko Dangote’s efforts to mobilise African retail investors around the proposed Dangote Refinery public offering as evidence of growing domestic participation in major African businesses.

For Elumelu, the objective is clear: African capital must increasingly finance African ambition.

 The $120m investment in African entrepreneurs

Making a strong case for inclusive economic growth, Elumelu presented the results of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which he co-founded with his wife, Dr Awele Elumelu.

Over 15 years, the Foundation has deployed more than $120 million in seed capital to 24,633 entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries.

Women account for 48 per cent of beneficiaries.

According to Elumelu, these entrepreneurs have collectively created more than 1.5 million jobs and generated over $4.2 billion in revenue.

He emphasised that the Foundation's selection process is merit-based, with entrepreneurs assessed on the quality of their business proposals rather than gender quotas.

He highlighted three women whose businesses demonstrate the commercial impact of relatively modest seed investments.

Princess Adeyinka Tekenah received $5,000 in 2015 and built Happy Coffee, an integrated coffee business sourcing beans from women farmers in Taraba State. Her enterprise has created more than 1,000 jobs and is positioning itself as a potential publicly listed Nigerian coffee brand.

Olamide Ayeni-Babajide, another $5,000 beneficiary in 2016, built a recycling enterprise focused on converting tyre waste into commercial value. Her business has recorded more than twenty-fold revenue growth and trained 15,000 people, most of them women and girls.

Nkem Okocha used her $5,000 seed funding to build Mama Moni, a financial technology social enterprise providing access to finance for low-income female entrepreneurs in rural and urban communities.

For Elumelu, their achievements reinforce a fundamental economic argument: women are not merely beneficiaries of development; they are drivers of enterprise, employment and wealth creation.

He disclosed that 265,529 young Africans applied to the Foundation's entrepreneurship programme this year, but only 3,200 could be funded.

That means just one in every 83 applicants received support.

The scale of unmet demand, he argued, exposes Africa's real problem.

“It is not a shortage of entrepreneurial talent; it is a shortage of capital.”

Women must move from participation to ownership

Elumelu also challenged corporate Nigeria to accelerate women's representation in executive leadership and boardrooms.

Using his own business group as evidence, he highlighted the leadership roles occupied by women across Heirs Holdings and its portfolio companies.

His wife, Dr Awele Elumelu, co-founded Heirs Holdings and chairs several businesses, including Avon HMO, Avon Medical, Heirs Insurance Brokers, Transcorp Hotels and Heirs Energies.

He also cited Owen Omogiafo, whom he supported for appointment as President and Group Chief Executive of Transcorp Group in 2020, making her the first woman to lead the conglomerate.

Under her leadership, he said, Transcorp strengthened its presence in power, hospitality and energy.

Following her elevation, Uzo Oshogwe became Managing Director and Chief Executive of Transcorp Hotels, while Awele Elumelu serves as chairperson.

He further highlighted the leadership of Somachi Chris-Asoluka at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, alongside other female executives across the Heirs Holdings portfolio.

At UBA Group, he pointed to women leading subsidiaries and regional operations across several African markets.

His message to business leaders was direct: appointing women to leadership positions should be driven by competence and commercial performance, not public relations.

“Women’s economic leadership is not a concession to fairness. It is a requirement for competitiveness,” he said.

“No serious economy can afford to systematically underutilise half its talent.”

 Intra-African trade: The next frontier

Beyond investment and women's economic participation, Elumelu identified regional integration as another critical driver of Africa's growth.

He lamented that moving goods from Lagos to Liverpool can be easier than moving them from Lagos to Luanda, reflecting the persistent infrastructure and regulatory barriers limiting intra-African commerce.

He called for greater investment in roads, railways, ports, payment systems and efficient customs procedures to make the African Continental Free Trade Area commercially meaningful.

African businesses, he argued, must begin to see the continent as their natural home market rather than remain confined by national boundaries.

He cited UBA's expansion into 20 African countries as evidence that cross-border African business is achievable.

“We cannot build a continental market merely by signing documents,” he said.

He called for African banks to finance regional expansion, manufacturers to develop cross-border supply chains and technology companies to build solutions that serve the entire continent.

Strong institutions, stronger economies

On governance and institutional development, Elumelu said investors consistently assess markets based on the reliability of contracts, predictability of regulation, effectiveness of the courts and availability of infrastructure.

“Capital goes where it is safe, and it stays where it is respected,” he said.

He urged African governments to focus less on international investment roadshows and more on creating the conditions that attract and retain capital.

But he also challenged the private sector to accept responsibility for building strong institutions.

Businesses, he said, cannot demand accountability from governments while tolerating poor governance within their own organisations.

Paying taxes, publishing accurate accounts, promoting employees on merit and maintaining effective corporate boards are all part of institution-building.

 'Do not wait'

Concluding his address, Elumelu returned to the central message of the WIMBIZ conference: the geography of opportunity is changing, and Africans must take ownership of that transformation.

He urged women entrepreneurs and professionals to pursue leadership, deploy capital, build businesses and create opportunities for the next generation.

“No one but us will develop Africa. Not the donors. Not the multilaterals. Not the partners, however welcome they are. Us.”

Addressing younger women in the audience, he challenged them to see themselves as the next generation of corporate leaders and business owners.

He also called on WIMBIZ to make its next 25 years even more ambitious, arguing that while advocacy had helped women gain access to decision-making spaces, capital was now essential to moving them into positions of ownership and influence.

“Advocacy got women into the room. Capital will get them to the head of the table,” he said.

His closing message captured the central argument of his address:

“Born in Africa. Built for the world. The world needs what Africa has. And what Africa has, more than oil, more than lithium, more than land, is you.”

Editorial note: Before publication, I recommend verifying the Seplat share-price and market-cap figures, the Foundation's cumulative funding and impact statistics, the 2026 application figures, and the executive titles and production figures. These are material business claims and should be independently substantiated.