Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu backs President Tinubu on youth, power reforms

Days after addressing global leaders in Rome on the urgency of investing in Africa’s young people, Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu walked into the State House in Abuja for a meeting with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu carrying the same message. Youth enterprise, small business growth and reliable electricity, he said, must sit at the center of Nigeria’s economic reset.

Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, United Bank for Africa and Transcorp Group, met Tinubu in his capacity as a member of the presidential economic advisory structure. After the visit, he shared details of the discussion on his official social media accounts, describing an exchange focused on practical steps to support entrepreneurs as the administration presses ahead with reforms that have reshaped prices, wages and consumer demand across Nigeria.

He said the president told him the government is pushing harder on youth entrepreneurship, strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises and accelerating power sector reforms. Those themes, Elumelu noted, are critical as Nigeria adjusts to a looser foreign exchange regime and broader efforts to restore investor confidence. He left the meeting encouraged by assurances that expanding opportunities for young Nigerians remains a priority.

Reliable electricity, he stressed, remains the backbone of investment, job creation and competitiveness. For decades, Nigeria’s power shortages have forced households, factories and small businesses to depend on diesel and petrol generators, raising costs and limiting production. Elumelu has long linked stable power supply to industrial growth. Through Transcorp, his business interests include major stakes in electricity generation, placing him at the heart of a sector central to the government’s reform agenda.

Elumelu links agriculture, energy, youth opportunity

The meeting also comes at a delicate time for businesses navigating policy changes. Elumelu has publicly suggested that access to foreign exchange is less of a daily emergency than it once was, citing what he described as a more predictable currency market. For importers, manufacturers and banks, predictability can matter as much as headline growth figures. Multiple exchange rates and sudden shortages had previously disrupted planning and raised costs. A clearer framework, he said, gives investors greater confidence to commit long-term capital.

Tinubu’s emphasis on youth enterprise aligns closely with Elumelu’s own work. Speaking at the International Fund for Agricultural Development’s 49th Governing Council in Rome alongside IFAD President Dr. Alvaro Lario and moderator Melissa Bell, Elumelu reminded global leaders that Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with 60 percent of its population under the age of 25. By 2030, he said, 440 million young Africans will enter the labor market. At the same time, 55 percent of Africans live in rural areas, making agriculture not just a livelihood but a strategic resource that feeds cities, powers rural economies and sustains communities.

“We cannot grow Africa without power, and we cannot grow Africa without food,” he said in Rome. Investing in young entrepreneurs, he added, strengthens communities, reduces poverty and enables rural economies to grow from within. Youth migration, in his words, is often a symptom of economic exclusion. 

TEF accelerates Africa’s young entrepreneurs

Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, he has tried to address that exclusion at scale. Twenty-one percent of the 24,000 entrepreneurs empowered by the foundation operate in agriculture and agribusiness. Collectively, they have created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, reinforcing food systems and rural livelihoods.

Since launching the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the foundation has trained over 2.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed more than $100 million in direct funding to over 21,000 African women and men. Those beneficiaries have created over 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs and generated more than $4.2 billion in revenue. 

Elumelu frames this work through what he calls Africapitalism, a belief that the private sector, and entrepreneurs in particular, are central to social and economic development across all 54 African countries. The foundation’s blend of training, mentoring, seed capital and networking has made it one of the continent’s most visible philanthropic platforms for early-stage founders.

His support for the administration’s focus on youth and power also reflects the scale of his business empire. He chairs United Bank for Africa and the Transcorp Group and founded Heirs Holdings in 2010 as a family investment company with interests spanning financial services, power, energy and real estate. The group’s portfolio includes Transcorp Hotels, Transcorp Power, Heirs Energies, Heirs Insurance, United Capital and Africa Prudential, among others.

Tony Elumelu’s energy deal, fintech expansion

On Dec. 31, 2025, through Heirs Energies, Elumelu acquired a 20.07 percent stake in Seplat Energy Plc for $496 million, purchasing 120.4 million shares previously held by Maurel & Prom at £3.05 each under a binding agreement signed after market close on Dec. 30. Valued between $494.5 million and $496 million depending on currency conversion, the transaction ranks among the largest locally driven acquisitions in Africa’s oil and gas industry in recent years. Weeks later, the stake was valued at more than $660 million, making Heirs Energies the largest shareholder in the country’s biggest listed energy producer.

His technology bets are also expanding. Redtech, a Lagos-based fintech backed by Heirs Holdings, is preparing to raise up to $100 million over the next two years to support expansion across Africa. In 2025, Redtech processed N30 trillion ($22 billion) in transactions, more than double the previous year. It plans to expand into 29 African countries in the first half of 2026 and has already deployed more than 30,000 point-of-sale devices in Nigeria, alongside launching a payment gateway that places it in more direct competition with fintech firms.

Against that backdrop, Elumelu’s meeting with Tinubu signals more than a courtesy call, highlighting the link between policy and private capital as Nigerians seek results. He said the discussion shows the government is seeking practical input and measurable outcomes, particularly on youth employment and power supply. For a businessman whose foundation has deployed over $100 million in seed capital, the engagement carries both national and personal significance.