Nigerian billionaire businessman Tony Elumelu has urged African companies to increase women’s representation in executive positions, arguing that excluding female talent undermines business growth and economic development.

Elumelu made the call while speaking at the 25th annual Women in Management, Business and Public Service (WIMBIZ) conference in Lagos, where he described women’s participation in corporate leadership as an economic necessity rather than a social obligation.

The Heirs Holdings chairman said businesses could achieve stronger commercial performance by giving qualified women greater opportunities to lead and make strategic decisions.

He cited his business conglomerate as an example, disclosing that eight women currently serve as chief executives or board chairs across Heirs Holdings companies, while another eight occupy regional leadership positions at United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Among them are Owen Omogiafo, president of Transnational Corporation Plc, and Dr Awele Elumelu, chairperson of Heirs Energies, which produces about 70,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

Elumelu attributed his appreciation of women’s business capabilities partly to his early exposure to entrepreneurship through his mother, who operated a restaurant.

He said the experience shaped his understanding of business management, financial discipline and operational resilience before he acquired a distressed bank at the age of 34 and transformed it into a major financial institution.

The businessman also highlighted the contributions of women entrepreneurs supported by the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which has provided more than $120m in non-refundable seed capital to 24,633 entrepreneurs across 54 African countries.

According to him, women account for 48 per cent of businesses supported by the foundation, with beneficiaries selected based on the commercial viability of their ideas rather than gender quotas.

He cited entrepreneurs such as Princess Adeyinka Tekenah of Happy Coffee and Nkem Okocha of Mama Moni as examples of women who have expanded their businesses through the foundation’s support.

Elumelu: How I started business with my mother running small restaurant

Elumelu also called for greater domestic investment in African businesses, arguing that reliance on foreign development assistance would not provide the sustainable financing required to grow the continent’s economy.

He identified inadequate electricity, limited local processing of raw materials and insufficient access to domestic capital as major obstacles to entrepreneurship and industrial development.

He noted that Africa continues to export raw commodities such as lithium, cocoa and crude oil instead of processing them locally to retain more economic value and create jobs.

Elumelu further highlighted barriers to intra-African trade, including fragmented customs systems, payment challenges and inadequate transportation infrastructure.

He called on pension funds, sovereign insurers and private investment institutions to provide long-term financing for businesses, saying domestic capital mobilisation was critical to Africa’s economic transformation.

LUKMAN ABDULMALIK
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