Heirs Holdings founder and UBA Plc Group Chairman, Tony Elumelu has been selected by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to its Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth. The IMF’s managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, will serve as the council’s chair. The disclosure was made in a press release that was published on Thursday, March 27, 2025.
Tony Elumelu, one of Africa’s most prominent entrepreneurs is also the Chairman of UBA Plc, Transcorp Plc, and holds the majority shares (60%) at Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC). Since 2015, his foundation the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), has provided funding, mentorship, and training to more than 25,000 African entrepreneurs, promoting entrepreneurship as the catalyst for the continent’s economic development.
Elumelu is a self-made businessman whose embrace of entrepreneurship is central to his idea of Africapitalism, which holds that the continent’s private sector can and should lead its development by making long-term investments that yield both social and economic benefits.
The statement made available to 9am News Nigeria read in part:
‘’Heirs Holdings Founder and Group Chair, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, has been appointed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to its Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth, convened by IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva.
’The Advisory Council comprises global business leaders, policymakers, and academics, dedicated to identifying and addressing regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. Its mandate is to recommend policies that enhance resource allocation, stimulate innovation, and catalyze sustainable private sector-led economic growth. Elumelu will be instrumental in ensuring that Africa’s entrepreneurial potential is central to global economic policymaking.
‘’Other members of the Council include: Harberger Professor of Economics, University of Chicago, Professor Ufuk Akcigit; Saudi Ambassador to the United States, HRH Ambassador Reema Bandar Al-Saud; Chair, CEO, and Co-Founder of Salesforce, Mr. Marc Benioff; Executive Chair, Banco Santander, Ms. Ana Botín; Chairman, Tata Group, Mr. Natarajan Chandrasekaran; Chief Executive, Vodafone Group, Ms. Margherita Della Valle; Founder, Chairman and CEO, Vista Equity Partners, Mr. Robert Smith and Argentine Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Mr. Federico Sturzenegger.’’
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva spoke at the Advisory Council’s first meeting on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, and said the council brings together a group of professionals to share their perspectives and experiences on how financial policies and macroeconomics can support innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity.
“The Council brings together a group of leading thinkers and practitioners in business, finance, academia, and policymaking to share their views and experiences on how macroeconomic and financial policies can provide a supportive environment for innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity—key ingredients for a thriving private sector and strong economic growth.”
“The medium-term outlook for world economic growth is at its lowest in several decades and much slowdown can be attributed to declining productivity growth,” Georgieva added..
In a statement, the IMF said that Georgieva held the first meeting of her new Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, as part of its efforts to assist its 191 member nations in establishing more favorable macroeconomic and financial conditions for robust and sustainable economic growth propelled by productivity improvements.
The IMF Managing Director’s Advisory Council will convene every three months to deliberate on policies that will help shape the IMF’s research and analytical agenda, which aims to advance macroeconomic and financial policies that can promote better medium-term economic prospects for all of its members.
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