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| Tony Elumelu |
Tony Elumelu, Nigerian entrepreneur and one of
Africa's most successful businessmen featured on African Voices, CNN’s International
weekly half-hour programme. In the interview, with CNN’s Jill Dougherty,
Elumelu talked about Africapitalism.
It's the term created by, to describe what he
believes holds the key to the continent's future well-being. According to Elumelu,
Africapitalism is the economic philosophy "that the African private sector
has the power to transform the continent through long-term investments,
creating both economic prosperity and social wealth."
Elumelu champions the idea that long-term focus on
key sectors such as infrastructure and power does not only offer high returns
but, in the process, can also help Africa deal with pressing problems such as
unemployment and food security.
"The information people have about Africa in
America and the western world is one of aid, one of squalor, one of poverty,
one of religious crisis," says Elumelu, who first found success after
turning a struggling Nigerian bank into a global financial institution.
"They need to begin to see that Africa is a continent of economic
opportunities -- a lot of potential and the returns on investment in Africa is
huge."
lumelu
also talked about his intentions to transform electricity shortage in Africa,
empower young entrepreneurs, and his goals for the future. He also explained why his company Hiers Holding pledged $2.5 billion
to President Barack Obama's Power Africa Initiative - a campaign aimed at doubling the access to electricity in
sub-Saharan Africa. Below is an excerpt of the interview.
CNN: What is Africapitalism and how does it work?
TONY ELUMELU: From interacting with customers, with communities, with
local governments, state governments and national governments, I started to see
a pattern that indeed we can as a private sector help to develop Africa in a
manner that's truly sustainable. I also, as a good student of economic history,
have observed the development of the African continent and come to realize that
despite all the aid inflows into Africa and despite our sovereign government
commitment to develop in the continent, not much was achieved.
But ... if we can mobilize the
African private sector and non-African private sector operating in Africa to
think long-term, to invest long-term in Africa in key sectors, then we might
end up creating economic wealth, economic prosperity and social wealth. That is
Africapitalism.
CNN: Which areas does the
private sector in Africa focus on?
TONY ELUMELU: The private sector in Africa was
largely dependent on government patronage, government contracts. But today, it
has changed significantly. You have the private sector in Africa today that is
adding real value to the economy through engagements in payment systems;
through engagement in key infrastructure projects; through engagement in
manufacturing and processing of raw materials in Africa and exporting this
within the continent.
So
it's a significant shift from where the private sector was before to where it
is today and we're beginning to see a new crop of private sector people in
Africa who believe under the sun that they have a role to play in the
development of the continent.
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| Tony Elumelu with Barack Obama |
CNN: Why did Heirs Holding decide to commit $2.5 billion to the "Power Africa" initiative?
TONY ELUMELU: Because we understand as Africapitalists the importance of
power, access to electricity, in unleashing the economic potential of Africa.
Because of that, we felt since we preach that the private sector should do
long-term investment in Africa in key sectors, there is no sector at this point
in time to us that is as strategic as power sector in dealing with the issue of
economic empowerment, democratization of economic prosperity across the
continent than power.
CNN: Looking ahead, what do you think is going to be the most
important source of power?
TONY ELUMELU: Africa is coming from a deficit
position -- only 20% of 1.2 billion people have access to electricity. So we
need to think of the kind of projects that will help us create the quantum leap
we need in power. And I think that that is what should guide the options that
we take.
So
for me, I believe that we need five years of sustained, massive billion dollar
investments (in the) power sector in Africa before we come to the level where
we need to discriminate, is it this kind of power or that type of power? But
let there be light first in Africa.
CNN: What are your goals for the future?
TONY ELUMELU: My goals for the future are twofold -- one is personal and
two is about the continent. For my personal goal I would like to continue to
impact my team. Because you get to a certain level where you wake up in the
morning not necessarily because you want to earn a living -- you wake up in the
morning I think about impact, about legacies, what impact am I going to leave
behind?
And so I decide to look at the
African continent and I tell myself this is a continent that is about to
explode but lacks certain vital ingredients. And so what role can I play in
making sure that some of those challenges are addressed in my lifetime, so that
my children will not as a kind of question I asked of my parents and
grandparents, where were they when the war started?
So that's important to me. And that
is why we invest in power. Not just because I want to make more money, which is
good, but because we touch lives significantly making that money.
For more on Tony Elumelu's inspirational success story, grab a copy of MY BOOK OF SUCCESS STORIES (Call 08187808666 for enquiries)
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