The
Head of MEDEF, Pierre Gattaz, with Tony Elumelu (right) and the President of
the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Oscar Onyeama, in Lagos on 7th October
2015 PHOTO CREDIT: AFP
By Joan Tilouine LeMonde.fr
24.11.2015 at 11.40
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A prominent figure amongst the new generation of
Nigerian entrepreneurs that came, on the 12th and 13th of November, to meet
with French business leaders. And yet, there is a gap between the industrialist
and investor Tony Elumelu, aged 52 and the MEDEF leaders.
The two worlds first met at the beginning of October
during a visit of French business delegates, led by the President of the group,
Pierre Gattaz, and the head of the African committee, Patrick Lucas. They have
been anxious to speak with Tony Elumelu.
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At the head of the private Investment
firm Heirs Holdings, and the most important conglomerate listed on the Nigerian
Stock exchange, Transcorp, the businessman invests in different sectors:
hydrocarbons, food-processing industry, hotels, health, banks and finance,
energy and infrastructure.Tony Elumelu is also a philanthropy involved in the
development of the continent. Convinced that youth unemployment established a
threat, he decided to dedicate 100 million dollars (94 millions euros)over the
next ten years, to support 10,000 young African entrepreneurs. It’s also him
that birthed the concept of ‘Africapitalism and dedicated an institute to the
cause, convinced of the benefits of the private sector with regards to
development,
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Elumelu:<>
In mid-November in Paris, Tony Elumelu
lent his image and shared his experience during the launch of LeAD Campus, a
new program ofScience Po, Paris, supported by the French Agency of development
(AFD, partner of Africa World), and its objective is to train the future
African leaders.
The program, which runs for five months
and costs 12,000 euros, is directed at leaders from the private sector, heads of
Small and Medium scale Entreprises, top-level executives of large local
organisations and multinationals, as well as those of the public sector, the
voluntary sector and civil society. It is driven by french businesses active on
the continent, like Danone, the French Council of Investors in Africa (le
Conseil français des investisseurs en Afrique (CIAN), MEDEF and the
AfricanFrance Foundation. Four African and French institutions are responsible
for its implementation: Science Po (France), The Higher Institute of
Management, Dakar, Senegal, the Graduate School of Development Policy and
practice of the University of Cape Town (South Africa)with the support of the
Centre of Financial, Economic and Banking Studies (Centre d’études financières,
économiques et bancaires CEFEB), a subsidiary of the French Development
Agency.(Agence Française de Développement AFD).
« Global
Village »
During the launching ceremony, Tony
Elumelu spoke to a host of french leaders on the business opportunities
available in his native country. “I already have partners in Great Britain, the
United States of America and Asia, he explained. I believe in the concept of a
global village in which we live in. It appears that there is a change in vision
on the part of french entrepreneurs with regards to Africa. And in this era,
African entrepreneurs are seeking for equal economic partners.
Mr. Elumelu smiled when he was asked
what would come out of his discussing business with business leaders that are
20 years older than him. He was not bothered about this but rather concentrated
on the figures and indicators on the returns on investment. He took his time to
note the business opportunities in France. “I explore and examine the possible
sectors where I could invest in. But it could take time to do the usual
checks.” He added.
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His presentation was inclusive of the
story of the ‘angolan princess’, Isabelle Dos Santos, who brought back banks,
telecoms companies and other sectors from the former strong colonial power,
Portugal. Except that Tony Elumelu is not a son of a president in power for
over thirty six years, fed from wealth gotten through oil and diamonds, but
rather, a formidable and subtle entrepreneur who pays attention to his
acquisitions and his choice of partners. Nevertheless, the French groups still
court him in order to penetrate into the Nigerian market, which has become the
foremost economic power of the continent, with a 7 % growth recorded in the
past ten years.
Hello, my name is Josephat Lukaza. I've 12 years in Blogging and An Award Winner for the BEST Political Blog in African Bloggers Awards in 2015
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