Elumelu says Africa shouldabandon a victim mindset.

Africans should welcome all foreign investors and set aside colonial hang‑ups, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist Tony Elumelu told AFP.

Elumelu, 63, is among Africa’s wealthiest individuals and chairs banking and investment groups such as Heirs Holdings, Transcorp and United Bank for Africa.

He also founded The Tony Elumelu Foundation, which supports young African entrepreneurs.

“What we need in Africa in the 21st century… we need massive private global capital coming into Africa,” Elumelu said on the sidelines of this week’s Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, co‑hosted by France and Kenya.

“Anyone that can help us address this is welcome in Africa,” he added, naming investors from the United States, France, the Middle East, Russia and China.

French President Emmanuel Macron recently appointed Elumelu to the Africa‑France Impact Coalition, a body aimed at boosting trade between French and African companies.

France’s colonial history makes it a controversial partner in several African nations.

Arrests were made in Nairobi this week after a small group of protesters attempted to breach the summit venue, accusing France of “neo‑colonialism.”

Elumelu rejected the criticism.

“We should stop this victim mentality,” he told AFP.

“We should be cognisant of the history, our history, but more importantly, we should commit to the future.

“We should, to a large extent, let the past be. President Macron was not born 100 years ago, this is a new age. And I commit to his commitment to Africa, and I believe he’s sincere,” he added.

Elumelu’s investment firms operate across sectors including hospitality, real estate, energy, agribusiness and financial services.

The most urgent need, he said, is better infrastructure.

“What our young entrepreneurs need in Africa is improvement in access to electricity, creation of mass transportation system, security, and ease of doing business,” he explained.

“These are the things that are important.”

Africa has become a focal point for economic competition among the United States, China, Europe, Russia, Turkey and Gulf monarchies.

“It is a good place to be at, as Africans, at this point in time,” he remarked.

With the median age of Africans under 20, Elumelu said rapid job creation must be the ultimate development goal.

“They need jobs, they need improved access to electricity, they need to join the internet… the AI bandwagon,” he said.

“What is important is providing this enablement, this infrastructure requirement, so that our young ones can take off.”

AFP