In far away Ivory Coast, The Ivorian National Council of Employers, General Confederation of Enterprises of Côte d’Ivoire (CGECI) has presented African businessman and investor, Tony Elumelu, with its 2016 CGECI Lifetime Achievement Award in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire At the fifth edition of the annual forum, CGECI Academy 2016.
Elumelu was given the award based on his leadership and key role as an African business champion. The event took place with over 3000 delegates in attendance, including top government officials, business leaders, established and aspiring entrepreneurs.
While he was addressing guests at the event, Tony Elumelu, chairman, Heirs Holdings, UBA plc and Transcorp plc, delivered a keynote speech where he advocated for the collaboration of the private and public sectors to create value in the global competitive business landscape.
“SMEs are the backbone of any economy anywhere in the world. And when governments ignore the private sector and fail to attend to their obligations to create and sustain enabling environments for businesses to thrive and flourish, the consequences are stark – low GDP growth, mass unemployment, ethnic strife and possibly, even food and health crises and in some cases, violent conflict,” he said.
“We are champions of African development because we are Africapitalists. Through Africapitalism, I seek to evangelize what works for successful business investments and inspire other entrepreneurs like yourselves; to also make the promotion of national and regional development a strategic priority for your businesses.”
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