Now best time to invest in Africa: Tony Elumelu at Africa 2017

Africa offers investors the largest return on investment, Chairman of Heirs Holdings in Nigeria, Tony Elumelu said during the first session of the Africa 2017 Forum that kicked off Thursday, featuring the Young Entrepreneurs Day.

“I want to leave this forum knowing that there is no greater time to invest in Africa,”

Elumelu said opening the forum.

Yesterday witnessed an intellectual debate between public and private sector leaders on the Presidential speaking panel of the Africa 2017 Forum Young Entrepreneurs Day that was held in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. The presidential panel was participated by H.E. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt; H.E. Paul Kagame, President of the Republic of Rwanda and Chairman of Smart Africa; YED Ambassadors, Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation; Mohamed Azab, Founder and CEO, Seha Capital, Egypt; and Pauline Mujawamariya, CEO, Africa innovation Foundation, Rwanda; who spoke on the theme “Driving African Entrepreneurship”.

 

Speaking to a gathering of entrepreneurs, private and public sector leaders, President Paul Kagame commended President Al Sisi and Tony Elumelu on their passion for driving entrepreneurship in Africa. He said, “I want to sincerely thank the president and my brother Tony Elumelu for his passion, effort and everything that he has done in promoting and raising young people in entrepreneurship to a high level. The young people here from Rwanda and Egypt are grateful to Tony”.

 

The event was hosted by the President of Egypt, H.E. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, a passionate advocate for entrepreneurship, as a platform for heads of state and government as well as private sector and business leaders in Africa and the world to discuss a wide range of business and development issues in the Continent and to engage with some of Africa’s most important economic partners and stakeholders. President Al Sisi seized the opportunity to announce that Egypt will have Africa’s first entrepreneurial centre.

 

Elumelu listed some key tips for entrepreneurs in Africa, “All entrepreneurs should think of branding and positioning to become successful,” he said.

 

The speaker stressed the importance of private sector involvement in economic growth, “because no one can develop Africa but us and we must lead the way to that,” Elumelu noted.

Aiming to bring together policymakers, financiers and investors to promote investments in strategic sectors, the event is organized by Egypt’s Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation and the COMESA Regional Investment Agency (RIA). ]

This article was first published on Egypt Today.