During a keynote address
at the 1st annual Enugu Investment Summit, Chairman of Heirs
Holdings and United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA) Tony O. Elumelu presented a
compelling case for a sub-regional approach to economic development for Eastern
Nigeria. In doing so, he also pledged to invest more steadily in the region.
Elumelu called on
governors of the five South East states to harmonise economic policies in order
to spur economic development and provide an enabling business environment.
“The truth is that the
public and private sectors must collaborate strategically to orchestrate the
region’s development. We need the combined effort of regional leaders to create
Eastern Industrial hubs; the existing state-by-state fragmentation won’t work
in today’s economic reality,” he said.
Organized by the Enugu State Government, the 3-day summit, themed Beyond
Oil: Fostering Inclusive Economic Growth and Sustainable Development State governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, affirmed Elumelu’s
strategic steer, noting his mission of transforming the state into an economic
powerhouse, and a preferred destination for investment.
This first edition of
the summit is aimed at showcasing Enugu’s enormous economic potential. The
summit will ultimately develop an economic agenda for the five South Eastern
states, and promote integration and shared prosperity for South East Nigeria.
While urging Eastern
governors to offer regional incentives, he also highlighted the responsibility
of private sector individuals.
“"For so long, we
have condemned our government for their inability to meet our developmental
goals. We have shied away from playing our own role in making things
work," he said. “But wealthy Africans should realise that in the 21st
Century, wealth is no longer measured by the amount in your bank accounts.
You should invest in industries and infrastructure."
Elumelu’s eponymous
Foundation is currently investing in Enugu state through the Tony Elumelu
Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP). In fact, drawing on the success
of the programme – in which 31 youths from Enugu State are among the 2,000
beneficiaries of the $10,000 seed capital provided through TEEP – he made
a call to successful people in the eastern region of Nigeria to invest in the
youths as a sustainable means of developing the African continent.
The summit attracted
foreign and local investors including; the Consul General of the Embassy
of France in Nigeria, Laurent Polonceaux; the Nigerian Director of a French
Group known as Proparco, Olivier Follin; the Irish Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr.
Sean Hoy, as well as director of an Irish organisation, Sustainable Food
Systems Ireland.
Others were members of a conglomerate made up of Chinese,
Singaporeans and Nigerians known as Fit Consult/Yuanda Group, including Mr.
Wang Yijun of Yuanda Group, Chief Loretta Aniagolu; Mr. Wang Xingjun, Mr. Jiang
Xin, Mr. Ronnie Tan all of the Yuanda, Mr. Paschal Dozie of MTN, Samuel
Onyeishi of Peace Mass Transit, Ugochukwu Chime of ECCIMA, among others.
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