Dike Onwuamaeze
For Tony Elumelu, Africa’s economic transformation cannot be left to governments alone, nor can it be achieved by depending indefinitely on foreign capital, aid and the export of unprocessed natural resources. It requires African entrepreneurs and investors to commit their capital, expertise and enterprise to building productive economies that create jobs, generate wealth and improve lives.
This conviction lies at the heart of Africapitalism, the economic philosophy championed by the Chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF). It is also central to the renewed push for regional integration and industrialisation in West Africa, where political leaders and private-sector players are seeking to convert the region’s vast resources and consumer market into sustainable economic opportunities.
Elumelu brought this perspective to the fore in Lagos this week, at a media roundtable involving Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio and Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, ahead of the West Africa Investment and Industrialisation Summit (WAIIS), scheduled to hold in Freetown from November 16 to 18, 2026.
The engagement focused on mobilising private capital, developing investment-ready projects and strengthening cooperation between governments and businesses across West Africa. With an investment pipeline estimated at more than $180 billion across four strategic pillars, the summit is intended to move regional integration beyond political declarations towards bankable projects and measurable economic outcomes.
For Elumelu, however, the significance of the initiative extends beyond a summit or a collection of investment pledges. It reflects a broader argument he has consistently advanced: Africa must take greater responsibility for its own development by investing in the sectors that underpin productivity, expanding opportunities for entrepreneurs and building markets large enough to support competitive businesses.
“We are happy that our political leaders are beginning to bring all of us together so that we can make a much greater impact,” he said, speaking on behalf of the African and West African private sector.
He linked the initiative to the urgent need to create employment for young people and ensure that economic growth translates into opportunities for people across the region.
“This is consistent with our aspirations to create jobs for our young people and ensure that everyone within the region has an opportunity to prosper,” he added.
His message captures the central premise of Africapitalism: private capital should generate commercial returns while contributing to Africa’s economic and social development.
Elumelu describes Africapitalism as the belief that “the African private sector must take the lead in driving economic development”, through long-term investments in key sectors that generate both economic returns and social impact. The philosophy challenges businesses to look beyond short-term gains and consider how investment can help address structural problems such as inadequate power supply, weak infrastructure, unemployment and limited access to economic opportunities.
From Regional Declarations to Investment
The timing of the Freetown summit is significant. The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), established in 1975, has spent five decades pursuing regional cooperation, free movement, trade and economic integration. Yet the region continues to face barriers that constrain cross-border commerce, industrial development and the movement of capital.
President Bio acknowledged this gap at the Lagos engagement, observing that West Africa had discussed integration for about 50 years without doing enough to create a consolidated market.
“West Africa has been talking about economic integration for about 50 years, but we have not done enough to integrate our economies and create a consolidated market,” he said.
He argued that governments and businesses must work towards a common market serving more than 400 million people, mobilising investors within and outside the region to take advantage of its opportunities.
That proposition aligns with Elumelu’s longstanding call for Africa to break down barriers between markets, improve infrastructure and expand intra-African trade.
The founder of Heirs Holdings argues that regional integration would remain incomplete without the capacity to produce goods that neighbouring countries need.
“If you trade and you don’t produce what your neighbour needs, your neighbour will go outside and look for who can produce it,” he had said, stressing the need for African economies to develop stronger productive capacity and larger markets.
The implication is that integration cannot be sustained by agreements alone. It must be supported by businesses capable of manufacturing goods, processing agricultural produce, supplying energy, providing digital services and moving products across borders at competitive costs.
For West Africa, the opportunities are substantial, but so are the challenges. Energy shortages raise production costs; inadequate transport networks impede the movement of goods; and fragmented markets limit the scale available to manufacturers and other businesses. Differences in regulations and border procedures can also make regional expansion more complicated than it should be.
WAIIS seeks to address these constraints by bringing governments, investors, development finance institutions, business leaders and project owners together around projects that can attract public and private financing.
The summit’s four strategic pillars are energy trade and industrial growth; strategic minerals and natural resource development; agribusiness and food systems transformation; and digital transformation and connectivity.
These priorities reflect the interconnected nature of economic development. Reliable electricity supports manufacturing and digital services. Efficient transport and logistics connect farmers to processors and consumers. Access to finance enables entrepreneurs to expand production, while digital infrastructure makes it easier for businesses to reach customers and operate across borders.
Africapitalism as a Development Model
Africapitalism emerged from Elumelu’s conviction that Africans must play a leading role in financing and building the continent’s future. Rather than treating the private sector merely as a source of tax revenue or a beneficiary of government policies, the philosophy positions businesses as active participants in solving economic and social problems. It also rejects the idea that profitability and social impact must be mutually exclusive. Investments in electricity, financial services, healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure can generate commercial returns while addressing constraints that hold back businesses and communities.
Elumelu had explained that Africapitalism calls on private-sector leaders to invest in critical sectors rather than concentrate on trading activities alone.
He cited power, electricity and railways as areas where long-term private investment could generate prosperity for investors while creating broader economic benefits. He described the approach as a “win-win for everyone”, arguing that investments should help catalyse development while remaining commercially sustainable.
This perspective is particularly relevant to West Africa’s industrialisation ambitions. The region cannot achieve sustained economic transformation if its businesses remain constrained by unreliable electricity, expensive logistics, limited access to finance and insufficient industrial capacity.
The challenge, therefore, is to direct capital towards productive activities that create value locally, develop supply chains and expand employment.
A defining feature of Elumelu’s philosophy is its emphasis on entrepreneurship, particularly among young Africans. He argues that the continent’s demographic advantage will only become an economic dividend if young people can access the resources and opportunities required to build businesses.
Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, he has supported entrepreneurs with seed capital, training and mentorship. The foundation’s work reflects the belief that small businesses can contribute to job creation, innovation and economic diversification when they receive appropriate support.
For West Africa, this approach offers an important complement to large-scale infrastructure investment. Major projects can create the foundations for growth, but local enterprises are essential for translating that investment into jobs, services and economic activity within communities.
This is why Elumelu’s emphasis on entrepreneurship is closely linked to the summit’s wider objectives. An integrated market would provide businesses with a larger customer base, while investment in infrastructure and productive sectors would improve their ability to compete.
Africapitalism does not suggest that governments should withdraw from economic development. Rather, it calls for a more effective partnership in which governments provide the enabling environment and private investors contribute capital, expertise and commercial discipline.
At the Lagos roundtable, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu emphasised the need for African economies to produce goods and services that their own populations consume.
“Africa needs to build what Africans will use and what Africans will consume,” he said, arguing that Lagos and other West African economies must work together to create a larger market and establish platforms that connect businesses across the region.
He identified technology, agriculture and other productive sectors as areas where cooperation could unlock opportunities.
For the private sector, however, the success of such ambitions will depend on whether governments can reduce investment risks, provide predictable policies, improve infrastructure and facilitate cross-border commerce.
Investors also need clarity on project ownership, financing arrangements, regulatory responsibilities and expected returns. Regional initiatives must demonstrate that announced opportunities can progress through feasibility studies, financial closure, construction and eventual operation.
This is particularly important for WAIIS, whose proposed investment pipeline exceeds $180 billion. The scale of the ambition makes implementation and accountability essential.