Tony Elumelu, Chairman of Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, has called for stronger collaboration between African governments and the private sector to transform agriculture and rural economies across the continent, emphasising public-private synergy as key to agribusiness growth.
He made the appeal at the 49th Governing Council of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in Rome, where global development leaders and policymakers gathered to discuss sustainable food systems and rural investment.
Elumelu framed the challenge as both economic and social, highlighting the need for structural reforms that make agriculture attractive to young Africans and capable of addressing food security.
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He identified three core areas requiring urgent action: electricity access, blended finance, and business education, noting that without reliable power and innovative financing models, young agripreneurs face persistent barriers to scaling their ventures.
“Food security is fundamental to societal development. We must work together to make rural economies more attractive,” Elumelu said, stressing that agriculture must be repositioned as a viable career path for youth rather than a fallback option.
He urged governments to reduce regulatory bottlenecks and onerous collateral requirements that currently hinder small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in the agribusiness value chain.
Elumelu cited data from the Tony Elumelu Foundation showing that 21 percent of the 24,000 entrepreneurs it has supported across Africa are in agribusiness, with women leading 55 percent of those ventures.
The foundation’s initiatives have created hundreds of thousands of jobs and underscored the role of entrepreneurship in driving economic activity and rural development.
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He also advocated for “blended finance” models that combine philanthropic capital with commercial investment to de-risk agricultural enterprises and attract larger flows of private funding.
Elumelu said such models are crucial for bypassing traditional banking hurdles and unlocking investment at the scale needed to modernize agribusiness across Africa.
Elumelu’s intervention comes amid broader discussions on strengthening rural economies and advancing food systems resilience, aligning with IFAD’s focus on public-private partnerships to increase access to finance, improve productivity, and create economic opportunities in farming communities.
Image Credit: Thesun.ng
Source:Thesun.ng
