Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, says Africa suffers the most trade discrimination and calls on its leaders to address the issue.

Mr Elemulu said this at a side event on ‘Charting the Course: The Future of U.S.-Africa Trade and Investment Relations’, at the ongoing U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit on Wednesday in Washington.

Mr Elumelu emphasised the need to urgently address internal and external obstacles confronting the African continent, especially trade discrimination.

“We should not allow this discrimination to discourage us. Africa can be the food basket of the world. Africa can do a whole lot more for the world and itself the moment we address the obstacles. We need to look at our structure. We need to work together to turn Africa into a manufacturing centre,” Mr Elumelu explained.

He added, “Africa can do a lot more than it is doing today. The opportunities on the African continent are huge, but we need to address trade barriers and obstacles as well as environmental challenges.” 

The banker told the audience that he had been supporting young entrepreneurs across Africa, stressing that “we need to change the stereotype.” 

He further pointed out that Africa “can be the breadbasket of the world” and “do a whole lot more for the world.”

“What I see as opportunities on the continent in the area of trade and investment is huge, but for us to realise that, we need to do more in removing obstacles as well as address environmental issues. If we remove these two, we can make progress,” said Mr Elumelu.

(NAN)