Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, has called for a fundamental shift in Africa’s development model, urging the continent to move away from dependence on foreign aid toward trade, investment, entrepreneurship and private sector-led growth.
Elumelu made the call during a fireside chat held on the sidelines of the 2026 United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The session, titled the “Darryl G. Behrman Lecture on Africa Policy,” was moderated by Michael Froman, President of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
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The discussion focused on Africa’s evolving role in the global economy, entrepreneurship, energy security, private sector development and the future of US-Africa relations.
Elumelu said Africans must increasingly take ownership of the continent’s economic transformation, while global investors and international policy partners should move beyond outdated perceptions of Africa as an aid-dependent continent.
Instead, he urged investors to view Africa as a commercial investment destination with opportunities for significant returns through strategic private-sector partnerships.
The businessman also challenged international investors to bridge the gap between perceived risks and operational realities in African markets.
He said treating Africa as a single high-risk market overlooks the economic diversity and investment opportunities across its 54 countries.
According to Elumelu, global capital seeking growth can find significant opportunities on the continent when foreign investors establish strategic co-investment partnerships with credible local business leaders who understand the operating environment.
He reaffirmed his economic philosophy of Africapitalism, which advocates private sector-led development and the use of business as a driver of Africa’s economic transformation.
Elumelu said while aid programs can provide short-term relief, they cannot build sustainable industries or replace the structural impact of domestic capital deployment.
He called on foreign venture capital firms, pension funds and development finance institutions to partner with local financial institutions to finance critical infrastructure and strengthen key trade corridors across the continent.
Addressing Africa’s youthful population, Elumelu described young entrepreneurs as critical to the continent’s economic development, security and global stability.
He said tackling youth unemployment is essential to reducing irregular migration and preventing social instability.
Drawing on the work of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which has committed US$100 million to empowering young African entrepreneurs, he said providing US$5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, combined with business training, could stimulate job creation in both rural and urban communities.
He urged international philanthropies, multilateral agencies and corporations to support the expansion of youth-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises across Africa.
On energy security and climate policy, Elumelu called for a pragmatic and equitable approach to the global energy transition.
He noted that more than 600 million Africans still lack access to electricity, arguing that industrialization and digital transformation would remain difficult without reliable and affordable power.
Elumelu advocated the use of Africa’s abundant natural gas resources as a transition fuel to power industries and stabilize electricity grids while investments in renewable energy infrastructure continue.
He argued that Africa’s energy transition must take into account the continent’s development needs and the urgent requirement to expand access to electricity.
On US-Africa trade relations, Elumelu said future partnerships should move beyond traditional concessionary frameworks and place greater emphasis on mutually beneficial trade and investment.
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While supporting the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), he said greater attention should be paid to the cost of producing and delivering African goods to US markets.
He also called for bilateral trade arrangements that support supply-chain integration and domestic manufacturing, while removing regulatory bottlenecks that continue to hinder intra-African trade as the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) gains momentum.
According to Elumelu, strengthening Africa’s productive capacity and connecting businesses to larger markets would allow the continent to capture more value from its resources and expand opportunities for its growing population.
Elumelu said stronger economic prosperity in Africa is ultimately in the interest of the global community.
He stressed that persistent poverty and economic exclusion can undermine peace and security beyond national borders, making Africa’s economic transformation a shared global interest.