Africans should welcome all foreign investors and put colonial hang-ups behind them, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist Tony Elumelu told AFP.
Elumelu, 63, is one of Africa’s wealthiest people, chairing banking and investment firms including Heirs Holdings, Transcorp and United Bank for Africa.
He also founded The Tony Elumelu Foundation that helps young African entrepreneurs.
“What we need in Africa in the 21st century… we need massive private global capital coming into Africa,” Elumelu told AFP on the sidelines of this week’s Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, co-hosted by France and Kenya.
“Anyone that can help us address this is welcome in Africa,” he said, from the United States and France, to Middle Eastern nations, as well as Russia or China.
French President Emmanuel Macron recently chose Elumelu to join the Africa France Impact Coalition, aimed at promoting trade between French and African companies.
France’s colonial past means it remains a controversial partner in many parts of Africa.
