Africa’s population, currently majority aged 15 to 24, is expected to double by 2045, according to the African Development Bank, a partner of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
To reduce this impact, the continent needs to create more jobs, policies and implementation programs that enable a more competitive private sector that fosters business growth, job creation and stimulates Africa’s economy.
Africa has long had to rely on foreign aid to deal with the effects of conflict-prone areas and extreme poverty, and that need remains essential to alleviate immediate suffering. However, many are beginning to recognize the need to move away from aid for long-term positive impacts and a more sustainable model of continental development.
Africa desperately needs long-term investment in the private sector, including infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing, to address growing food insecurity, increase incentives and create much-needed job opportunities for Africa’s youth.
So far, foreign aid has done little to improve the living conditions of those at the bottom of society who live below the poverty line.
Tony O. Elumelu, founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, continues to argue that a better approach to the cycle of dependency created by foreign aid approaches to Africa’s problems is to fund private commercial enterprises.
Elumelu’s philosophy is increasingly popular on the African continent, where he is recognized as a pioneer of a private sector-led approach to accelerating development.
At the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) conference held in Japan in 2020, he reiterated his position on Africa’s huge investment returns, saying, “Africa is one of the most viable investment destinations in the world. Its huge population of nearly 1.3 billion creates one of the most attractive markets in the world.”
Based on this philosophy, the Tony Elumelu Foundation was established to develop more successful African business leaders and support the economy as a whole. To date, the foundation has funded over 9,000 entrepreneurs, and Elumelu also continues to invest in businesses that add value to local communities and society at large.
“The global argument is that in the 21st century, we need to engage with Africa not from the outside, but from the inside, and from the perspectives that we think are important,” Elumelu said in an interview on Arise TV’s Morning Show earlier this month.
“We appreciate the help, but more importantly we want to be fishermen.
“We all have a role to play in the development of the continent, and we are doing so by investing in key areas of Africa’s economy, such as infrastructure, power and rail.
“Long-term investing in key sectors creates economic prosperity for you, the investor, while at the same time creating wealth and prosperity for society, a win-win for everyone.
Creating policies and incentives that signal progress rather than failure is a step toward converting aid into trade, thereby encouraging people to become creators of wealth and business, and to earn a living from their activities.
