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| Tonny Elumelu: Africapitalist |
Philanthropist and promoter of Africaptalism, Tony Elumelu on May 27, 2016, delivered an inspiring speech in Paris, France, selling Nigeria as an investment destination to the French business community.
Elumelu, who is the chairman of the pan-African banking group, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, and proprietary investment firm, Heirs Holdings delivered the speech as a guest speaker at the 1st ‘Colloque Nigeria,’ a colloquium on doing business and investment in Nigeria, which was organised by the French senate at the exquisite Palais de Luxembourg in Paris, France.
Speaking at the conference, the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation said that like every part of the world, investors in Nigeria and Africa were faced with a myriad of challenges, but amidst these challenges, no other destination provided more opportunities and return on investment as do Nigeria and Africa.
“Nigeria remains a very viable, attractive and important investment and export destination for French companies. As a matter of fact, I would argue that now is a good time to come and invest in Nigeria, because it is an investor’s market. The fundamentals of the Nigerian economy remain strong,” he said.
According to Elumelu, some of the trends supporting long – term growth in Nigeria were the increased use of technology by the Nigerian population, high consumerism, young demographic and increasing urbanisation. While encouraging French businesses to come and discover Nigeria, he advised they would – be investors to find the right partner that would help them navigate the environment and stated that they need be committed to invest in Nigeria for the long haul.
“Nigeria has always been a unique country. We are not only the most populous country on the continent of Africa, we are amongst the best educated and most-travelled people in Africa. We Nigerians are well known for our positive outlook and can-do spirit. Even more importantly, we have a strong culture and spirit of entrepreneurship. The smart investor, knows that this is the time to enter our market because the fundamentals of the Nigerian economy remain strong, and where others perceive risk and challenge, the glass is actually half full rather than half empty,” Elumelu said.
He asserted that despite the current challenges faced by Nigeria which have been brought about by the sharp drop in commodity prices, the country still offers one of the highest returns on investment on the continent.
Credit: Leadership News
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