The chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) Mr. Tony Elumelu has taken his concept of Africapitalism to Tunisia by calling for a shared approach to Africa’s economic development.
Speaking recently at Tunisia’s International Investment Conference tagged ‘Tunisia 2020’ Elumelu said a shared approach is the only way to achieving sustainable economic development, political stability and economic prosperity on the African continent.
To stimulate economic growth in Tunisia and Africa as a whole, Elumelu said his economic philosophy of Africapitalism provides a blueprint adding that African unity should be about shared challenges and experiences, shared ideas and goals, and bonds of blood and trade.
Elumelu who also encouraged youth involvement in entrepreneurship said it is the most secure route to sustainable development.
“It is imperative for African leaders to implement growth policies that would see the youths as catalyst to development, thus avoiding the socio-economic crisis as experienced in Tunisia and other countries in Africa in past years,” he said.
The UBA chairman promised to support Tunisia’s economic transformation by investing in young aspiring entrepreneurs through the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF).
He further pledged to help propel Tunisian entrepreneurs into the next generation of top African business leaders through the $100 million TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
“I believe that shared prosperity can only be achieved when the government and private sector work in shared purpose to advance the economic and social development of nations and the continent,” he said.
Earlier in his opening speech, the president of Tunisia, Mr. Beji Caid Essebsi said the conference was designed to generate up to $30 billion for 145 projects over the next four years.
The event was attended by more than 2,000 delegates, including 15 delegations from the United Nations and several countries, including Germany, Canada, France, Qatar and Algeria.
Dignitaries at the event included the prime minister of Tunisia, Youssef Chahed, his Algerian counterpart, Abdelmalek Sellal; president and vice president of European Investment Bank, Messrs Werner Hoyer and Andrew McDowell as well as the chairman of Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Abdul Latif Yousif al-Hamd.
