Tony Elumelu has charged the European Union (EU) and international development partners to prioritise extending practical economic empowerment to Africa.

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Chairman said Africa does not need handouts that will keep it as a dependent continent, perpetually. Speaking at an interactive session with the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms. Jutta Urpilainen, in Abuja, Elumelu noted that Nigeria is currently battling economic challenges.

He stated that beyond the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), which has empowered over 18,000 young African, he has been trying to attract investments into Africa and Nigeria, saying, “the visiting delegation is even more focused on business than entrepreneurship.

“And we believe that the ultimate to peace and security is empowerment. It is not about handouts but practical economic empowerment.

“The Tony Elumelu Foundation has committed 100 million dollars to impact 18,000 young African entrepreneurs by giving them a seed capital of $5,000 aside from training them for six weeks as well as providing mentors to coach them.

“They in turn have gone to create thousands of jobs, which is the impact we want to see. The impact report of the foundation shows that it has created over 400,000 jobs and we will continue to invest more in youth entrepreneurship,” he said.

Also speaking, the Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency (SMEDAN), Charles Odii, said that the agency as part of its primary mandate will soon conduct feasibility studies to ascertain the nature of businesses the Nigerian, Micro, Medium and Small Enterprises (MSMEs) on the funding required to make them flourish.

“We have to know exactly the businesses, their plans, and the kind of funding they want. We have to take into cognizance what they need and take data on informed decisions.”

He added that the collaborations with the European Union and other international organisations would be advanced to drive the growth of Nigeria’s over 40 million businesses.

Earlier, in her remarks, the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms. Jutta Urpilainen, said she has drawn out the objective of changing the paradigm of donor-to-recipient relationships by creating mutually beneficial partnerships.

She said the EU has budgeted about £150 million by 2027 as funding support for Africa with focus on energy, digital and transport infrastructure.
She added that Nigeria has a lot of opportunities to deepen and strengthen partnerships with the EU in digital marketing.