African Growth – How and When

On our Heirs Holdings' social media page, I read a report from Newsweek, forecasting Nigeria as a potential economic superpower, with the potential to match China’s economic success.

To put this in context, China’s GDP in 2019 was estimated at $5,987 billion, closely following that of the United States at $7,128bn.

However, there was a big question – for Nigeria to achieve such a monumental success, industries such as petroleum, manufacturing, and agriculture must undergo a total transformation. If this is achieved, imagine what this could mean for Africa’s economy – the jobs created, sectors built, trade relations established and foreign direct investments this could attract!

This exciting report aligns closely with Africapitalism – our belief in the potential of the private sector leading the charge in Africa’s development. 

Africapitalism prioritises high-growth sectors in catalysing Africa's transformation and Heirs Holdings Group is the role model - we have recorded success after success, investing and reaping dividends right here on the continent, over the past ten years of our existence.

Later today, I will take this message to London, where I will speak at the UK Africa Investment Summit on the panel “African Growth Opportunities” alongside Presidents of Mozambique, Mauritius and Cote D'Ivoire, as well as private sector leaders. Convened by the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, this summit will bring together African presidents, UK business leaders, heads of the main global International Financial Institutions and pan-African development organisations, to promote UK investment into Africa and help catalyse the reforms required by African Governments to help facilitate this.

I will highlight the importance of Africapitalism, impact investing and how this has guided the way we do business at Heirs Holdings. 

Investments and social good are not mutually exclusive. To transform Africa, we must collectively prioritise Africapitalism to catalyse not just industries, but communities and the lives of people in Africa. Improving the socio-economic status of the continent begins and ends with people, especially young people. This is why our work at the Tony Elumelu Foundation is so critical and redefines development in the 21st century. By empowering young African entrepreneurs and investing in key sectors of Africa through our investments at Heirs Holdings, we achieve our purpose of improving lives and transforming the African continent. 

We have directly impacted over 9,000 entrepreneurs at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, with, in partnership with others 100,000s in the pipeline - and applications are open to empower more across the continent. We employ over 30,000 people across our diverse Group and most importantly, all of us, in all we do, offer a role model of African success and global institutional standards. This is impact. This is Africapitalism. And this is what Africa needs. 

Watch the panel live – UK-Africa Investment Summit