Tony Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, says he started his career in a job he was not qualified for after someone took a chance on him.
In a post on X, Elumelu said he was lucky, but luck should not be the only way an African talent gets a chance.
“I started my career in a job I wasn’t qualified for. Someone took a chance on me. Everything I have built since has been to repay it,” he said.
“I was lucky. But luck should not be the only way an African talent gets a chance.
“Our job is to democratise that luck!”
Elumelu said Africa accounts for less than 1 percent of the world’s “AI compute and 3% of its AI talent”.
“The constraint is not talent. It is electricity. We leapfrogged landlines with mobile. We will not leapfrog electricity,” he said.
The businessman also said the continent must address its electricity challenges quickly to avoid missing out on the digital revolution.
Elumelu said the race for artificial intelligence (AI) in Africa was also a race for megawatts.
“My closing advice: To the youth in the room: start before you are qualified. I did,” he said.
“To the investors and partners in the audience: @TonyElumeluFDN seed capital has proved that young African entrepreneurs are investible.
“Now co-invest with us to take them to scale.”
On September 11, Elumelu said lessons from his days as a photocopier salesperson have continued to shape his approach to business.
The full full post
Today’s theme at the #AfricaDay2026 dialogue is building African champions.
To me, champions are built at home and nobody builds them alone. That is why I am here to forge more partners for African youth. Not patrons.
I started my career in a job I wasn’t qualified for.
Someone took a chance on me.
Everything I have built since has been to repay it.
I was lucky. But luck should not be the only way an African talent gets a chance.
Our job is to democratise that luck!
Africa holds less than 1% of the world’s AI compute and 3% of its AI talent. The constraint is not talent. It is electricity.
We leapfrogged landlines with mobile. We will not leapfrog electricity.
We must fix it quickly not to miss the digital revolution train.
The race for African AI is a race for megawatts.
My closing advice:
To the youth in the room: start before you are qualified. I did.
To the investors and partners in the audience: @TonyElumeluFDN seed capital has proved that young African entrepreneurs are investible.
Now co-invest with us to take them to scale.
