Chairman, Heirs Holdings and United Bank for Africa Group, urged
African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Heads of State to improve the
business environment in their countries to drive industrialisation and
wealth creation in ACP member states.
He said this while presenting the keynote speech on the theme
“Industrialization and Private Sector Engagement for Economic
Transformation of ACP States” at the Presidential Dialogue of the 9th
ACP Business Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
Elumelu stated that industrialisation will not be achieved without
support for small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) and improved
access to electricity. “We cannot hope to industrialise if we do not fix
the issue of power, if our entrepreneurs spend so much of their
resources to power their businesses, how then are they expected to make
the investments necessary to upgrade and industrialise? If we do not
tackle these pertinent issues, we will be unable to achieve
industrialisation, wealth creation and poverty reduction,” he said.
He highlighted infrastructure development as another critical area
needed to achieve sustainable development, highlighting the key role the
United Bank for Africa Group plays in achieving this. “UBA is a force
for development in Africa through infrastructure investment and leading
the way in cross border payments and services, with the objective of
encouraging trade across the continent,” he said.
While citing the impact of the flagship Entrepreneurship Programme of
the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Elumelu highlighted the critical role
partnership between the private and public sectors, as well
developmental organisations, play in achieving industrialisation. The
Tony Elumelu Foundation, a private-sector-led philanthropy, is on a
mission to catalyse the economic transformation of the continent by
empowering young African entrepreneurs – over 7,500 beneficiaries across
54 African countries thus far – through its Entrepreneurship Programme.
Elumelu shared stories of beneficiaries in Kenya including Dr. Peter
Gichuhi Mwethera, who has developed a contraceptive gel, Uniprin, which
aims to prevent HIV infection, and Maureen Amakabane whose company,
‘Usafi Sanitation’, is bridging the sanitation gap in schools by
providing waterless toilets.
He said: “To date, we have 497 beneficiaries in Kenya, 596 in Uganda,
187 in Tanzania and 194 in Rwanda. This brings the total number of TEF
Entrepreneurs in East Africa so far to 1,474, so far. Organisations such
as the UNDP, African Development Bank, the ICRC, and GIZ have helped
increase the number of young entrepreneurs we can support “.
The President of Kenya, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta shared the same approach to
development, while highlighting his country’s private-sector-focused
plan which has propelled the country’s ease of doing business rank from
129th position out of 190 economies in 2013 to the 56th position in
2019.
President Kenyatta said: “Our young people are tech-savvy and indeed
with a huge entrepreneurial spirit. They are ready to embrace the
digital revolution. We are experiencing a flourishing digital innovation
ecosystem which can stimulate the rate of growth of ICT and technology
innovations, and nurture vibrant tech startups and incubator hubs as
Tony [Elumelu] has mentioned, of those young men and women he has
supported through his family and Foundation”.
In closing, Elumelu stressed the importance of including women in the
development agenda of the ACP region, commending the European Investment
Bank (EIB), for its initiative “She Invest”, which is focused on
mobilising 1 billion Euros for women across Africa. “We at the Tony
Elumelu Foundation strive to reach the same goals of uplifting women out
of poverty and empowering them with knowledge and resources. This is an
invitation to join forces as we have done with the UNDP to lift 100,000
young African boys and girls out of poverty, thereby stemming migration
challenges,” he said.