Billionaire businessman and chairman of United Bank of Africa, Tony Elumelu, has once again harped on the beauty of entrepreneurship as well as why he’s continued to encourage it.
According to the Delta-born preacher of Africapitalism, “A decade ago, we launched The Tony Elumelu Foundation and did something new in Africa – we “democratised” luck. In my own entrepreneurial journey, I knew luck had played an important role, and I was determined that others, many others, would get those same chances.
“So, we created an institution with a single focus: African entrepreneurs. We knew that if we equipped young people with the tools and the opportunities to succeed, this was the only sustainable, dignified way to create a path to prosperity, substituting hand-outs for self-reliance and pioneering a 21st century philanthropy.
“We wanted to change how Africa is perceived and how Africa grows – creating something transformative, scalable, inclusive, youth-focused, and African-led. Aid has a role, it has saved many lives, but it does not challenge the status quo.
“Entrepreneurship, not charity, gives us control and allows us to grow our talents, harness our drive and our resilience, as Africans.”
