Worried about the threat of poverty in the African continent, Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, Tony Elumelu, has sought the support of business and global leaders to drive Africa’s transformation.

He appealed to one of the sessions on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York while participating in a panel discussion at the Clinton Global Initiative 2023 meeting.

Elumelu, who spoke on addressing poverty alleviation through economic empowerment and entrepreneurship said: “Realising that poverty is a threat to all of us everywhere, we believe that it is not the amount of money we have in our bank balances that counts. What counts is the impact that we collectively make in helping to make the world a better place.”

Stating that Africa has close to 1.3 billion people with over 65 per cent of them being under the age of 30, the bank chief raised the alarm that while this could be a demographic dividend, it could also be a curse for everyone.

Emphasising the need to address poverty collectively, especially considering Africa’s youthful population, Elumelu charged the global leaders to empower a generation of young entrepreneurs on the continent, who would help to develop and transform Africa.

“We need to play our role in helping to democratise luck to play our role in helping to empower a generation of entrepreneurs, our young ones, our young males and females, and women on the continent who would help to develop and transform Africa. That is the underpinning of Africapitalism.

“That is the genesis of Africapitalism; a call on the private sector, African private sector, global private sector and development agencies to work together in the 21st century to help develop Africa, to help create self-reliant people – people who are not going to be perpetually dependent on donor funding.”

With a focus on ‘Shifting the Power: How New Philanthropic Approaches Can Transform the World of Social Impact’, Elumelu highlighted the evolution of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), which began as a family-funded initiative but has now expanded to encompass partnerships with influential organisations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the IKEA Foundation (the second-largest foundation globally) and the European Commission among others.