Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu, group chairman of Heirs Holdings and owner of United Bank of Africa, has been appointed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to its advisory council on entrepreneurship and growth.
The council, convened by IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva, consists of global business leaders, policymakers, and academics focused on identifying and addressing regulatory obstacles to entrepreneurship.
In a statement released on Friday, the IMF announced that Tony Elumelu will play a key role in emphasizing the importance of African entrepreneurship in policymaking.
“Elumelu, Africa’s leading advocate of entrepreneurship and whose Foundation has funded, mentored, and trained over 25,000 African entrepreneurs since 2015, champions entrepreneurship as the engine for the economic transformation of Africa,” the statement reads.
“A self-made entrepreneur, Elumelu’s embracing of entrepreneurship is fundamental to his concept of Africapitalism, his belief that Africa’s private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent’s development, making long-term investments that deliver social and economic value.
“Elumelu will be instrumental in ensuring that Africa’s entrepreneurial potential is central to global economic policy making.”
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the advisory council on March 26, Georgieva said the appointees would share their experiences on how macroeconomic and financial policies “can provide a supportive environment for innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity — key ingredients for a thriving private sector and strong economic growth”.
