Elumelu sees stronger trade, collective partnerships driving Africa’s growth

Tony Elumelu, chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) PLC and Heirs Holdings Group, has called for a strategic and collaborative approach to hasten Africa’s economic transformation, spotlighting trade and public-private partnerships as crucial to driving the continent’s needed growth.

Elumelu addressed an audience of policymakers, business leaders, and investors at the inaugural Cameroon Economic Meeting in Yaoundé, under the invitation of the country’s president, explaining the urgency of fostering intra-African trade, infrastructure development, and financial inclusion.

According to him, sustainable growth in Cameroon, and Africa at large, depends on a deliberate synergy between governments and the private sector.

“For Africa to succeed, for Cameroon to succeed, government and businesses need to unite, to invest for the long term, not just the short term. We must all be strategic and purposeful,” he said, also noting that leaders at the top should help create a ladder for younger ones to also succeed and in turn impact the continent.

Using Heirs Energies as a case study, he illustrated how collaboration between government and private sector players can create scalable economic opportunities. Elumelu urged Cameroon’s policymakers to replicate such models, fostering trade-friendly environments and reducing regulatory bottlenecks that stifle business growth.

He listed key priority areas that governments should focus on to boost the economy, including security and the rule of law, infrastructure development, youth empowerment, attracting global investment, and strengthening public-private partnerships.

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Governments must see the private sector as a partner, not a competitor, and create an enabling environment that fosters business growth through reforms that reduce excessive taxation and improve ease of doing business, explained Elumelu, pitching UBA as financiers.

Elumelu, who chairs Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), Nigeria’s largest conglomerate, stressed the importance of execution, enterprise, and excellence in achieving sustainable economic transformation.

“The path to economic revival is within our reach, but it requires a collective commitment from the government, private sector, investors, and the Cameroonian people,” he said.

The CEO also called for a prioritisation of Africa’s growing young population in policies and national decisions to support human development and social mobility. “I believe that leaders who have got to the top should help create a ladder so that the young ones can also succeed and in turn impact the continent,” he said. “My life story shows what can be achieved, in Africa, by Africans, for Africans.”