Chairman of UBA Group, Tony Elumelu, has called for the urgent mobilisation of Africa’s estimated $4 trillion in domestic capital to address the continent’s infrastructure and development challenges, without placing additional strain on government budgets.
He highlighted the continent’s pressing issues, including energy poverty and digital infrastructure gaps, noting that over 50% of Africa’s population still lacks access to electricity.
At the same time, he pointed to the continent’s demographic advantage, with more than 60% of the population under the age of 30.
“They are quite creative, energetic, and want to contribute their own part to the development of the continent,” Elumelu said. “But there’s significant capital constraints.”
To overcome these barriers, Elumelu stressed the importance of building trust and accountability between governments and the private sector.
“We need to make sure that the domestic savings and capital mobilization on the continent is actually working for its people and channeling their resources in the required area,” he said.
He argued that improving access to electricity would significantly boost productivity and youth employment, enabling Africa to better support global economic growth.
“Inclusion is not automatic. Inclusion is deliberate. We need to have African voices on the table,” Elumelu stated. “Digital inclusion in the 21st century is economic inclusion. If we want to deal with inequality, if we want to create and democratize prosperity across the globe, we must deal with some of these issues.”
Calling for “smart partnerships that work,” Elumelu urged governments to create enabling environments that attract private investment, while ensuring transparency and good governance.
“Government must provide accountability, transparency, and help to create the enabling environment that will allow the private capital to mobilize to work for people,” he said. “So that collectively we can improve productivity efficiency on the continent.”