29/04/2016
TAKEAWAY FROM MY KEYNOTE DELIVERY AT The Chicago Council on Global Affairs 2016 AGRICULTURE SYMPOSIUM
Did you know that the AGRICULTURE sector in Africa:
• has a return on investment, in terms of improved economic well-being, that is 2 to 3 times higher other sectors?
• represents 32% of Africa’s GDP?
• employs 65% of the working population?
• and offers the most practical means of achieving and sustaining inclusive growth on the continent within the next decade?
In a nutshell, IF WE TRANSFORM THE AGRICULTURE SECTOR, WE WILL TRANSFORM THE AFRICAN CONTINENT!
What MUST be done to ease the constraints plaguing the agriculture sector and increase the productivity of its participants? We asked our Tony Elumelu Agricultural Entrepreneurs from across the continent and they told us that:
1. Access to Finance was the most pressing concern.
Our Solution: Entrepreneurs need money to buy seeds, fertilizer, equipment and hire labour to increase their productivity. At Tony Elumelu Foundation, we have committed to giving $10,000 to each of the 600 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs involved in agriculture. Already, we have disbursed $1.5million to date. Additionally, UBA Group which I chair, is the leading financial institution lender to the agriculture sector in Nigeria – Africa’s largest economy. I charge all of us business leaders to be Africapitalist champions by investing long term in strategic sectors like agriculture.
2. Value chain and supply chain inefficiencies ranked next.
Our Solution: At Heirs Holdings, a Pan-African proprietary investment group which I lead, our investments in the African Commodities Exchange and East African Exchange enable African farmers access warehousing services to reduce postharvest losses. Farmers are also able to directly access multiple and competing buyers through their platforms to get better prices for their products while providing processors with a reliable supply of quality raw materials.
3. Training was another crucial factor found missing.
Our Solution: In addition to the 12-week online business learning programme available to all Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs, the Foundation is actively forging partnerships that will offer specialized technical training particularly for farmers, processors, distributors and other key players in the sector.
Prioritizing and transforming this sector in Africa is not just a moral imperative, it is a smart business strategy that will save lives, unlock jobs, grow economies and stabilize regions. I thank the organizers of the Chicago Council on International Affairs’ Agriculture Symposium for inviting me to deliver the keynote address, and I urge all of you to read my speech in full
http://heirsholdings.com/tonyelumelu/the-chicago-council-on-international-affairs-agriculture-symposium-washington-d-c-2016
