Africapitalism – Investing in Africa’s Future

Africa is a complex market with varying market demands for growth. In the last century, Africa has borrowed from economic models from around the world, with a confluence of all existing models.

Some have termed this as Africapitalim. Africapitalism in countries such as Nigeria, Mozambique, Rwanda, Angola and Kenya is seen as the solution to creating inclusive African societies and less of a reliance on AID, to push the development agenda. Africapitalism is the economic philosophy that, African private sector has the power to transform the continent through long-term investments, creating both economic prosperity and social wealth.

Africapitalism has also added to the resurgence of indigenous funding mechanisms based on private sector driving indigenous growth. Africapitalism is a model that has the potential to change the way Africans invest in one another, and how they bring the informal to the formal through identifying unique indigenous African business cases. The Economist, had the following to say about the impacts of Africapitalism in an extract from its article,

The Rise of Africapitalism: “In 2015 the African entrepreneur will emerge on to the global stage, as a new generation shows the world what those of us doing business in Africa have long known: that our continent is home to some of the most exciting and innovative entrepreneurial talent. The term “Africapitalism” describes the process of transforming private investment into social wealth. As homegrown businesses meet social and economic needs by creating goods and services with an innate understanding of the local environment, they can bring private capital to vital infrastructure like road transport and power generation. And they can create jobs for Africans, which will in turn create an African middle class—a new generation of African consumers”.

Nigerian philanthropist, private investor and former banker Tony O. Elumelu first iterated the term Africapitalism in 2011, which has been likened to concepts including “inclusive capitalism“, “impact investing,” “conscious capitalism” and “philanthro-capitalism”. The tenants of Africapitalism according to the Toni Elumelu Foundation are:

• Entrepreneurship. Unlock the power of individuals to create and grow their business ideas into successful companies
• Long-term Investments. Deploy patient capital that creates greater and broader economic value as opposed to merely the extraction of resources Read more →