UBA Chairman, Tony Elumelu Visits India, Attracts Investors To Nigeria

By Falayi Olarewaju

The Chairman of the United Bank For Africa, UBA, Mr. Tony Elumelu has visited India to attract Indian investors to come to Nigeria to invest in the economy of the Country.

Elumelu who accompanied His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to India to attend the Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and Conference in New Delhi was able to convince the Indians to pledged their readiness to invest a huge sum of $14 billion into the Country’s economy.

Mr. Tony Elumelu, CFR, who doubles as the Group Chairman for the Heirs Holding appealed to the Indian Private Sector to seize the opportunity to invest in Nigeria, during the Nigeria India Presidential Roundtable and Conference held on Wednesday, September
6th, 2023, in New Delhi, India, which was jointly organised by the High Commission of Nigeria to India, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Nigeria-India Business Council (NIBC).

Elumelu, who has built Pan African financial service businesses and now
controls significant power and natural resources operations, all focused on
value creation in Africa, was in Delhi for the G20 Summit, both as an invitee
of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and as Co-Chair of the Business 20 (B20) Action Council focusing on African economic integration, the private sector counterpart to the G20.

During a keynote address, Elumelu invited Indian private sector leaders to join him and other global investors in accessing the rapidly evolving Nigerian
economy, home to 20% of Africans and one of the largest consumer populations globally.

Speaking further, he said, “this is the time to invest in Nigeria. I speak as a private sector investor in Nigeria.
The companies in our Group’s investment portfolios has demonstrated the opportunities. I believe you also can take advantage of our track record and
success.”

At the Presidential roundtable, hosted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the
Indian investors pledged investments of nearly $14 billion to Nigeria, following
the Nigerian President’s commitment to create the enabling environment for
foreign investments to thrive.

“He described Nigeria as a huge market with over 200 million people with the largest economy on the continent”.

He went on to describe Nigeria as a Country with the population that is not only over 200 million people, but also with an exciting population demography.

“He however pointed out to the Indian investors that his Country, have a lot of young people who are only concerned about consumption on one part, and those who are intelligent, energetic, hardworking, and who can provide the human capital that investors need to drive their businesses on the part”.

Meanwhile, Tony Elumelu, according to reports was recently named co-chair of the Business 20 (B20) Action
Council focusing on African economic integration, alongside Sunil Mittal,
Founder of Bharti Enterprises (Owners of Airtel), which was established in 2010 within the G20, the B20 comprises corporate business enterprises and organisations and serves as the official platform for dialogue between the G20 and the global business community.

Heirs Holdings is a leading Pan-African investment company. Its investment portfolio spans the power, oil and gas, financial services, hospitality, real estate, and healthcare sectors, operating in twenty-four countries worldwide.

Heirs Holdings is inspired by AfriCapitalism, the belief that the private sector is the key enabler of economic and social wealth creation in Africa. Driven by this philosophy, Heirs Holdings invests for the long-term, bringing strategic capital, sector expertise, a track record of business success, and operational excellence to companies they invest in.