Business News of Friday, 28 March 2025

Source: www.legit.ng

IMF appoints Tony Elumelu, others to advisory council on entrepreneurship

Tony Elumelu Tony Elumelu

Nigerian billionaire and chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group, Tony Elumelu, has received a new appointment from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Elumelu will now serve on the advisory council on entrepreneurship and growth, convened by Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director.

The appointment was made public on Friday, March 28, 2025, two days after the inaugural meeting was convened.

Elumelu, others to serve on IMF advisory council

While serving on the IMF advisory council, Elumelu will work with other global business leaders, policymakers, and academics to identify and proffer solutions to regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship in different parts of the world.

The council will also make key policy recommendations to improve resource allocation, encourage innovations, and trigger sustainable economic growth, driven by the private sector, the CABLE reports.

The statement described Tony Elumelu as Africa's leading advocate of entrepreneurship, recognising the number of youths mentored, funded, and trained by the Tony Elumelu Foundation in the last decade.

It added that the Group chairman of Heirs Holding would play an important role in ensuring that Africa’s entrepreneurial potential remains a key consideration in the making of global economic policies.

It reads;

“A self-made entrepreneur, Elumelu’s embracing of entrepreneurship is fundamental to his concept of Africapitalism, his belief that Africa’s private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent’s development, making long-term investments, that deliver social and economic value."

Other members of the council

The advisory council on entrepreneurship includes members such as Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Group; Robert Smith, founder, chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners; Margherita Della Valle, chief executive of Vodafone Group; and Federico Sturzenegger, Argentine minister of deregulation and state transformation.

Also serving on the council are Ufuk Akcigit, Harberger professor of economics at the University of Chicago; Marc Benioff, chair, CEO, and co-founder of Salesforce; Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Saudi ambassador to the United States; and Ana Botín, executive chair at Banco Santander.

Speaking at the inaugural meeting, Georgieva noted that each member on the council will contribute views, experiences and expertise to create a global environment that supports innovation, productivity and entrepreneurship, and makes for strong economic growth driven by a thriving private sector.

Tony Elumelu calls for investment in Africa

In related news, Chairman of Heirs Holding, Tony Elumelu, recently urged investors to tap into Africa’s $450 billion economic growth target.

Elumelu urged foreign partners to stop giving aid to Africa, noting that such gestures will not help the continent grow to its full potential.

He listed that what Africa truly needs to trigger economic growth is key investments into critical sectors of the economy.