The Chairman, Heirs Holdings Group, Mr. Tony Elumelu has boldly declared that Return on Investment (RoI), and opportunities in investing in Africa are limitless, calling on global investors to support in the building of a prosperous, and self-sustaining Africa together.
Elumelu, in his message at the World Governments Summit in Dubai: “Invest in Africa,” on Tuesday, expressed concerns over the skewed perception of risk towards investing in Africa.
Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), and Transcorp Group, stated that with a diversified portfolio across four continents, from power to oil & gas, financial services, and healthcare, “I can tell you one thing: nowhere else offers the kind of ROI than Africa does,” he said.
Specifically, he noted that Heirs Holdings Group, for example, has the capacity to generate 2,000 MegaWatt (MW) of electricity daily, and currently, with available capacity of circa 1000MWs, stressing that the power generation was a transformative impact and significant value creation on a continent where energy access remains a key challenge.
On what is the continent’s greatest assets, Elumelu stressed that it is the people with a median age of 19 and 65 percent of her 1.5 billion population under 30.
“We have an unstoppable demographic advantage. This youthful energy is a goldmine for investment, innovation, and economic growth,” he explained
He pointed out that every challenge in Africa— infrastructure deficit, energy insufficiency , or transportation inadequacy was an investment opportunity for global investors.
According to him, the competitive edge lies in the key for an investor to identify these gaps and structure the approach to mitigate the risks.