African governments urged to provide enabling environment for businesses

Mr Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu, the Chairman of UBA Group, has called on African governments to provide conducive business environment for entrepreneurs to operate.

He said entrepreneurs needed more eco-systems to succeed in their business operations which would enable them to contribute to the development of the economy.

Mr Elumelu, who is also the Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, was speaking to students of the University of Ghana Business School at a seminar on Africapital and Entrepreneurship in Accra on Tuesday.

He commended the Government for its efforts to remove the bottlenecks entrepreneurs face in their day to day operations to enable them to grow their business.

Mr Elumelu said Africapitalism was an economic philosophy that embodied the African private sector’s commitment to the economic transformation of Africa through long-term investments that created economic prosperity and social wealth.

“Nobody is going to develop Africa except us,” he said.

He encouraged entrepreneurs to embrace the concept of Africapitalism in their operations for business sustainability.

He said the private sector had a role to play in the development of the continent and reiterated his commitment to help address the challenges.

Mr Elumelu asked other successful African business leaders to lend their support.

He said 79 Ghanaian entrepreneurs had benefitted from the Tony Elumelu Foundation and it was refreshing to know that these individuals were doing great in their various endeavours.

Mr Elumelu advised the students to be financially disciplined and save to invest in their business.

“The culture of excellence, quality, integrity and reliability should be part of any entrepreneur’s principles,” he said.

Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, commended the UBA founder for his efforts to empower the new generation of entrepreneurs.

He said the university community was privileged to host Mr Elumelu to share his rich experience with the students.