Nigerian businessman and philanthropist Tony O. Elumelu has begun a Pan African tour aimed at strengthening entrepreneurship, digital inclusion, and infrastructure development across the continent. The initiative, which aligns with his long-standing vision of Africapitalism, seeks to empower African entrepreneurs as key drivers of sustainable economic growth.

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Elumelu, who chairs the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and founded the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), is visiting several countries including Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Rwanda, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. During the tour, he is engaging with heads of state, business leaders, and young innovators to promote collaboration, funding access, and policy frameworks that support enterprise.

According to UBA, the mission underscores a shift from dependency on foreign aid to investment-led growth driven by Africa’s private sector. Elumelu emphasized that Africa’s youthful population, over 60 percent under 35, represents the continent’s greatest asset and must be equipped with tools to create businesses and jobs.

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Since its launch in 2015, the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme has empowered over 21,000 entrepreneurs across 54 African countries, providing seed capital, mentorship, and business training. The foundation has also partnered with international institutions, including the UAE’s Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation, to expand support for African start ups.

For Nigeria, the tour reinforces Elumelu’s message that entrepreneurship remains the cornerstone of national and continental development. His push for infrastructure investment and digital access is expected to strengthen Nigeria’s integration into Africa’s growing innovation ecosystem.

The Pan African tour ultimately serves as both a call to action and a blueprint for the continent’s future, one built not on aid, but on enterprise, innovation, and African self determination.