Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu urges global shift from foreign aid to investment

Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu delivered a direct challenge to world leaders and financiers at the 81st United Nations General Assembly: Stop treating Africa as a dependent charity case and start backing it with serious investment capital.

Reflecting on his week of high-level engagements in New York, the chairman of Heirs Holdings rejected the traditional foreign donor model, arguing that demographic momentum and growing domestic liquidity make commercial investment far more sustainable than traditional foreign aid.

“I have never accepted that Africa is just a place for charity, aid, or even well-meaning condescension,” Elumelu said. “Our continent has so much more to offer. We have the resources. We have our young and entrepreneurial population.”

That commercial argument is gaining momentum as African institutions increasingly underwrite their own strategic heavy industries. Elumelu cited investment banking firm United Capital, which managed the domestic initial public offering for the multibillion-dollar Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos, demonstrating that regional balance sheets can structure and fund megadeals locally.

United Bank for Africa now provides trade finance and corporate banking across 20 African nations, as well as operations in New York, London, Paris, and Dubai, facilitating South-South commerce without relying entirely on legacy Western clearing routes.

Powering Africa’s digital economy

Addressing the intersection of industrial infrastructure and technology, Elumelu warned that international enthusiasm around the artificial intelligence boom will remain hollow across the continent unless underlying power grids are stabilized.

During meetings with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Elumelu underscored that computing capacity requires physical megawatts. He pointed to power generation assets owned by Transcorp Group and Heirs Energies, which are expanding capacity to convert domestic natural gas reserves into base-load electricity.

“AI needs electricity. Manufacturing needs electricity. Digital infrastructure, hospitals, schools and SMEs need electricity,” Elumelu said. “Reliable power is no longer simply a development objective; it is fundamental to Africa’s competitiveness.”

This framework anchors Elumelu’s philosophy of “Africapitalism”—the position that the private sector must lead long-term economic development while generating market returns.

In talks with George Elombi, president and chairman of the African Export-Import Bank, Elumelu pressed for deeper regional capital market integration to ensure African pensions and savings finance critical infrastructure, such as logistics hubs and cross-border power corridors, rather than waiting on concessional foreign loans.

15-year balance sheet data

Shifting from policy dialogue to global philanthropy at the Council on Foreign Relations and the Clinton Global Initiative, Elumelu met with former U.S. President Bill Clinton and international delegates, linking chronic joblessness directly to regional security threats.

“Where economic hope disappears, instability finds fertile ground,” Elumelu said. “That is why I believe philanthropy should not create permanent dependency, but help people and businesses reach the point where they no longer need philanthropy.”

To support that position with operational figures, the Tony Elumelu Foundation released its 15-year impact assessment during the assembly. The data indicates that the foundation’s $5,000 catalytic seed grants have helped create over 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs while generating $4.2 billion in cumulative enterprise revenue across 54 African countries.

Approximately 80 percent of businesses backed by the program since 2015 remain operational, with an independent audit showing an average capital cost of under $80 per job created. In addition, female entrepreneurs lead 85 percent of the more than 7,183 women-owned businesses funded through the foundation’s programs.

Commercial independence

The mission closed with Elumelu attending the Appeal of Conscience Awards Dinner. He had postponed accepting the award the previous year following a fatal fire at Afriland Towers in Lagos that claimed the lives of several United Capital personnel.

Concluding bilateral discussions with World Bank President Ajay Banga, Elumelu reiterated that international development institutions must partner with regional players as peers rather than impose top-down mandates.

“No one but us will develop Africa,” Elumelu said. “Africa needs the world, and the world needs Africa. But we must engage as partners, bringing our markets, resources, capital, and entrepreneurial talent to the table.”