RismadarVoice Reporters
November 9, 2026
Chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony Elumelu, has credited his mother with teaching him the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, describing her small restaurant business as his first practical business school.
Elumelu made the remarks during the 25th Annual Conference of Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ), held at Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, on Friday.
He recalled watching his mother manage limited resources, serve customers and overcome daily business challenges while providing for her family.
According to him, the experience taught him valuable lessons about financial discipline, cash flow, risk management, hard work and resilience.
Elumelu said his mother’s determination shaped his understanding of entrepreneurship and strengthened his belief in women’s ability to build successful businesses.
Speaking on the conference theme, Rooted, Rising, Ready: Born in Africa, Built for the World, he argued that women’s economic participation was essential to Africa’s competitiveness and sustainable development.
He disclosed that women account for 48 per cent of the 24,633 entrepreneurs supported by the Tony Elumelu Foundation over the past 15 years.
According to Elumelu, the foundation has provided more than $120 million in seed capital to entrepreneurs across Africa’s 54 countries, supporting businesses that have reportedly created over 1.5 million jobs and generated more than $4.2 billion in revenue.
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He urged African governments, financial institutions and business leaders to expand access to funding and leadership opportunities for women.
The businessman also identified unreliable electricity, inadequate local value addition and limited access to capital as major obstacles to Africa’s economic transformation.
He stressed that the continent must improve electricity supply to support industrialisation, technological advancement and emerging innovations, including artificial intelligence.
Elumelu further advocated increased processing of African raw materials locally rather than relying heavily on exports of unprocessed resources.
Highlighting the continent’s entrepreneurial funding gap, he revealed that the foundation received 265,529 applications in 2026 but could support only 3,200 entrepreneurs.
He said the figures demonstrated the need for greater investment in African businesses, particularly those established by young people.
Elumelu called for stronger mobilisation of domestic capital through banks, pension funds, insurance companies and other investment institutions.
He maintained that Africa’s economic future depended on expanding investment, strengthening trade and providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to transform innovative ideas into sustainable businesses.
