Heirs Holdings Group has signed a $100million MOU with Afreximbank to support the group’s cross-border investment programme across 20 African countries.
The investments, which are in key sectors of the African economy include, energy, financial services, real estate and hospitality.
Speaking during the bank’s annual general meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, chairman of the group, Mr. Tony Elumelu described the signing as “symbolic” saying “it is a clear affirmation of my call-to-action to African development institutions.”
“I challenged development institutions to invest in a manner that catalyses trade and industrialisation and not just to achieve triple A ratings. I urged them to support African businesses in a strategic way to build homegrown corporates and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) that contribute to job creation, economic growth and sustainable development,” he said.
Elumelu stated shared the UBA Group story and “how we grew the bank from a single country operation to a thriving 19 country operation with 1000 branches, employing 25,000 staff, improving payment facilities, funding infrastructure development and facilitating intra-African trade.”
He announced that the Heirs is investing in African entrepreneurs which he described as “the lifeblood of the African economy.”
“Our commitment is to empower 10,000 entrepreneurs who will create one million jobs. But that’s not all. We have also invested in a commodity exchange facilitating regional trade with local farmers called the East Africa Exchange and a thriving potato business called Mtanga farm.
My development mantra is “Africans Investing in Africa”. As the African private sector, we must capitalise on the ripe opportunities on the continent to create economic prosperity and social wealth while giving our young people economic hope by empowering them either as entrepreneurs, or employing them as staff.
It is our responsibility to build the future we desire for ourselves, one investment at a time,” he added.
