Tony O. Elumelu Delivers Keynote Address at 17th Nigerian Economic Summit
Tony O. Elumelu, MFR, chairman of Heirs Holdings Group, was the keynote speaker at the opening dinner of the 17th Nigerian Economic Summit which began on November 10, 2011 in Abuja. The three-day event was organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group with the purpose of attracting foreign investors to the country. Mr. Elumelu, whose speech was titled “Only In Nigeria Is Our Story Even Possible”, highlighted the top reasons why investors should see Nigeria as The Promised Land.
“Nigeria is a destination where multinationals can, and do succeed, and where domestic champions are rising and adopting increasingly regional and global strategies,” he said. “We are a country full of people who are entrepreneurial, innovative, and ready to leverage opportunities.”
In an inspiring speech that featured the success stories of MTN, Dangote Group, Diageo, UBA and Nollywood, Mr. Elumelu, who is also the Founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, emphasised that Nigeria – with its large population, abundant natural resources, fast-growing economy, market-oriented reforms – was the perfect environment for investors to not only make profit but to also help drive the economy as well as development. UBA and Dangote Group were the only two Nigerian companies ranked by Boston Consulting Group among its top 40 African Challengers of 2010.
“We need more UBAs, MTNs, Dangotes, et cetera, in Nigeria,” Mr. Elumelu said. He further challenged the audience – people from diverse sectors including financial services, agriculture and manufacturing – with a question: “In 10 years,” he said, “whose story will we be talking about?”
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