Africa must prioritise tech to create opportunities for entrepreneurs, says Elumelu

Chairman, Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu has urged world leaders to prioritise technology in Africa to create economic opportunities and growth for millions of young African entrepreneurs on the continent.

Elumelu, who is also the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) spoke yesterday in France at the Tech for Good Summit 2019, when he joined global leaders at the invitation of President of France, Emmanuel Macron to discuss the use of technology in making the world a better place.

According to him, technology is a great employer of labour as it drives inclusiveness and helps alleviate poverty.

In a statement made available to The Guardian, he said, “But we must not forget that in Africa we are just starting out and we cannot afford to lag behind. We need the world to pay attention to Africa so that young Africans are not disenfranchised and left behind in this new technology era.

“We need the world to pay attention to the plight of young Africans so that issues of migration can be addressed in a more fundamental way by tackling the root cause which is a lack of economic hope. We must address these issues holistically to fight poverty which as we all know is a threat to everyone everywhere.”

The entrepreneurship advocate disclosed that Africa is home to one billion people out of which 60 percent are under the age of thirty.

“To create enough jobs to keep this youth population actively engaged, the continent will need to up its game in not just creating jobs but creating a cyclical mechanism that will ensure that millions of economic opportunities are available to its youth – the masses that graduate yearly from universities and those who decide to pursue an entrepreneurial/ career path earlier in their lives.”

He warned that if the youth are not empowered now, its population, otherwise an advantage could translate to an economic disaster that will ripple across the world, adding, “hence, our focus on empowering African entrepreneurs.