When Tony Elumelu stood at the podium during the Africa-Europe summit this week, his message was both simple and powerful: “Africa needs partners, not charity.” In those few words, he challenged decades of framing—where aid was the default lens through which many saw Africa—and called for a bold pivot toward investment, entrepreneurship, and equal partnership.

Elumelu’s remarks arrive at a time when Africans are demanding dignity, economic agency, and the ability to define their own path forward. The continent is fertile with youthful talent, innovative startups, unexploited natural resources, and a growing ecosystem of creators and problem solvers. But the real question, Elumelu pressed, is who builds that future—and how.

For too long, many global engagements with Africa have been tethered to aid models—donations, grants, relief. While well-intended, aid often comes with strings, power imbalances, and temporary fixes. Elumelu argued that sustainable progress cannot rest on handouts, but on co-investment, shared risk, and mutual respect.

He urged that empowering small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and young innovators must be at the heart of any serious development strategy. After all, these are the real engines of inclusive growth. He also emphasized that Africans must be lead actors—designing solutions suited to local needs—while global partners play complementary roles.

In his own work, Elumelu has practiced this philosophy. Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), he has backed thousands of young African entrepreneurs, offering training, networks, and capital. TEF has become a beacon for the philosophy of “Africapitalism,” which insists that profit and purpose can—and must—coexist on the continent.

Voices & Context from the Summit

At the Africa-Europe summit, leaders, investors, and policymakers gathered with ambitious goals: deepen trade, promote sustainable development, and restructure global partnerships. Elumelu’s message cut through rhetoric. As the Friends of Europe platform has observed, the narrative of Africa as a charity project is fast giving way to a more strategic framing: “It’s about building partnerships — not making Africa a market for Europe.”

Underpinning this is the fact that TEF has long championed the shift from dependency to agency. Their programs have supported innovations across energy, health, tech, agriculture, and finance—sectors that require capital, risk appetite, local knowledge, and long timelines.