Following his advocacy for entrepreneur led development
for Africa at the White House and Georgetown University, African business leader and
philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu is billed to speak on African energy issues at the
Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL) Global Advisory board meeting in New York, on
May 19. The event will be co-chaired by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and the
World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim.
Mr. Elumelu, the Chairman of the United Bank for Africa and the Founder of the Tony
Elumelu Foundation, is on the Advisory Board of SE4ALL along with global leaders
such as US Secretary of State John Kerry, and the Directors General of the UNDP and
UNIDO. The initiative brings together leaders from all sectors of society to
collaborate to help increase energy access and build a more prosperous and safer
world.
“I have a strong interest in ensuring that Africa has reliable access to power for
all citizens,” Tony Elumelu said. “I look forward to sharing my thoughts on
sustainable energy with global leaders at the SE4ALL meeting.”
Following the energy meetings, Elumelu will be in Paris, France at the invitation of
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius on May 20 to take part in a global business
dialogue focused on influencing the agenda for the 2015 Conference of the Parties
(COP 21), the leading annual negotiating summit on climate issues. Mr Elumelu, the
only business leader invited from West Africa, has been invited along with an
exclusive group of 40 Global Business leaders, including Jack Ma, the Executive
Chairman of Alibaba Group, Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, and Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla.
“It is important for Africa’s private sector to be represented at high level
discussions on energy and climate change,” Tony Elumelu said. “There’s still a lot
to be done to increase Africans’ access to energy while simultaneously mitigating
the risks of climate change. It is a delicate balance but one we are working hard
to address on the global stage.”
To round up the week, on May 22, Tony Elumelu will deliver the closing keynote
address on the topic “Africapitaliam as a Catalyst for the Development of Africa” at
Oxford University courtesy of the Oxford Africa Society. The opening keynote of
this year’s Africa conference will be delivered by His Excellency John Dramani
Mahama, President of the Republic of Ghana.
