Elumelu Advises Indian Private Sector To Hasten To Invest In Nigeria

Chairman of the Heirs Holdings Group, Chief Tony Elumelu has advised Indian private sector to take advantage of the vistas of opportunity to invest in Nigeria.
He spoke yesterday, September 7, at the ongoing Nigeria-India Presidential Roundtable and Conference in New Delhi. The Roundtable and Conference was 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 controls significant power and natural resources operations, all focused on value creation in Africa, was in Delhi for the G20 Summit as co-chair of the Business 20 (B20) Action Council focusing on African economic integration, the private sector counterpart to the G20.
In a keynote address, Chief Elumelu invited Indian private sector leaders to join him and other global investors in accessing the rapidly evolving Nigerian economy, which is home to 20 percent of Africans, and is one of the largest consumer populations globally:
“This is the time to invest in Nigeria. I speak as a private sector investor in Nigeria, the companies in our Group’s investment portfolio demonstrate the opportunity. I believe you also can take advantage of our track record and success.”
Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of UBA Group said: “Nigeria is a huge market; over 200 million people with the largest economy on the continent.
“Most importantly, the population is not just over 200 million people; the demography of the population is exciting. We have a cohort of young people who are there to consume, and we also have people who are intelligent, energetic, hardworking, who provide the human capital that investors need to drive their businesses.”
At the Presidential Roundtable, Indian investors pledged investments of nearly $14 billion to Nigeria following the Nigerian President’s commitment to create an enabling environment for foreign investments to thrive.
Elumelu 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).
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.