For Africa to thrive, we must align align capital with vision - Elumelu

By Seun Ibiyemi 

To unlock Africa's full potential and drive widespread prosperity, Tony Elumelu, a leading African business leader argues that a fundamental shift is necessary: we must deliberately align capital with vision.

Elumelu who is the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Transcorp Group made the call while delivering a keynote address titled “Private Sector Leadership at the Forefront of Africa’s Economic Transformation” at the 2025 Abuja Business & Investment Summit & Expo, held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre, Abuja.

“We need to deepen our capital markets, embrace fintech innovation, and expand access to credit for MSMEs, the true backbone of our economies,” Elumelu said. “If we align capital with vision, Africa will not just grow; it will thrive.”

He stressed that Africa’s private sector must lead the continent’s economic transformation by investing long-term in sectors that create both economic prosperity and social wealth. 

Elumelu also urged policymakers to strengthen regulatory consistency and foster trust to attract sustainable private capital.

“Predictable regulation attracts long-term investment; inconsistency drives it away. Trust is the currency of investment and policy stability converts trust into capital,” he added.

Highlighting his group’s achievements, Elumelu cited the transformation of the Transcorp Hilton Abuja into a world-class hospitality destination, the launch of the 5,000-capacity Transcorp Event Centre, and investments in the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) as examples of private sector leadership in action.

Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, over 24,000 young African entrepreneurs including 641 in Abuja have received $5,000 seed capital, mentorship, and training to build sustainable businesses across the continent.

Elumelu concluded with a rallying call for a new era of “Africapitalism,” where private sector leaders commit to building economies rather than merely extracting profits.

“Building economies, not extracting profits, that must be the new African business ethos,” he declared.