Economy
Things I Consider Before Making Any Investment—Elumelu
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Serial entrepreneur, Mr Tony Elumelu, is one businessman many Africans would love to be like because of his impact in the business world.
The Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), one of the biggest banks in Africa, has a foundation, which has committed $100 million for young African entrepreneurs.
Recently at an event held in Bahrain, Mr Elumelu highlighted things he considers before making an investment in any country.
This event was the Peace to Prosperity Workshop in Bahrain, organised by the Presidency of the United States of America in partnership with the host government, the Kingdom of Bahrain, to launch the US growth strategy for Palestine and the Middle East; a first step in the long journey towards establishing an enduring future for the region; the West Bank, Gaza, and beyond.
Mr Elumelu, who was part of the Heads of States and other global leaders on the occasion, told participants that, “As an investor, something that speaks volumes to me when I want to choose a country to invest in is this: is the private sector in that environment doing well? Do they have small and medium scale enterprises that are flourishing?
“This to me is the real signal of how successful my investment will be because what it is good for local investors is good for international investors.
“If economic conditions for local investors are not favourable, they can’t be for foreign investors. Government must ensure that local SMEs thrive to signal to global investment community that Palestine is open for business.”
Providing the African perspective upon special invitation from the US Government, Mr Elumelu, who spoke on the opening plenary alongside Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund (IMF); and Mohammed Al-Sheikh, Minister of State & Member of the Council of Ministers, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, shared practical recommendations to unlock future economic prosperity for the Palestinian people, using what is done at the Tony Elumelu Foundation as a replicable model for the economic empowerment of young men and women from the West Bank and Gaza.
He stressed the urgency and importance of supporting and empowering young Palestinians to ignite the entrepreneurial ecosystem and strengthen the Palestinian economy. For stable growth, he reiterated that young Palestinians must be empowered with jobs and economic opportunity to contribute meaningfully to their nation’s development.
“I come from Africa; and the reality is that we do have a lot of similarities with the Palestinian people; especially in the area of demographic makeup. With over 60 percent of its nearly 5 million strong population under 30, the young people of Palestine need jobs, jobs and more jobs!
“Without jobs, there will be no economic hope. Big corporations and government alone cannot supply the jobs demanded by Palestine’s demographic pressures. We need SMEs and startups to address joblessness in the region, create jobs and opportunities in local communities for millions of our Palestinian young brothers and sisters to become employed, meaningfully engaged, and full of economic hope, which in turn leads them away from extremism,” he stated.
“In the 21st century, we cannot keep relying on western donors to help empower our own people; we must step up and create a platform where they may partner with us for scale, just as we are doing at the Tony Elumelu Foundation,” he added.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation annually identities and empowers entrepreneurs across all of Africa’s 54 countries with non-refundable seed capital of $5000 each, mentoring and training, and in over five years, has supported 7,520 young Africans.
To resolve joblessness in the region, Mr Elumelu offered his Foundation’s unique economic empowerment model to be replicated in Palestine.
“Young Palestinian people need similar opportunities like the ones we currently give young African entrepreneurs through the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
“We acknowledge that given Africa’s huge numbers, we are touching only a top of the iceberg, but we have seen first-hand how this model transforms individual lives, families, communities and cities,” the former banker said.
Agreeing with Mr Elumelu on his call for an increased focus on SMEs and young people, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of State Mohammed al-Sheikh, stated: “The younger population and proper planning is essential to creating economic prosperity in the West Bank and in Gaza. If you look at the demographics in the region, it is a young population.
“As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia looked to diversify its economy and carry out the structural changes to be less reliant on oil revenue, this required real commitment and hard work and buy in from everybody, with small-to-medium enterprises at the front and centre of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.”
Mr Elumelu also called on the government to play its own role in supporting and prioritising the young people of Palestine: “Governments must play their own role: ensuring good governance is in place, prioritising infrastructure and the fight against corruption, and creating an enabling and conducive environment so that when these young Palestinians get opportunities, they can succeed.”
Joining him in advising on the role of the government in creating a conducive environment for the private sector, Ms Christine Lagarde, MD, IMF added, “We have seen a pressing need for capacity development in the field of public finance management, central bank strength and domestic revenue mobilization. These are the background in which private sector can have a predictable environment within which they can operate.
Advising development agencies on a more inclusive model for even greater impact, Mr Elumelu stated: “Development agencies should also not sit in their offices abroad to design growth programmes and strategies for the Palestinian region, but must ensure that the people of Palestine are actively involved in pulling their people out of poverty.
“Development agencies must assist in a strategic manner, working with local partners who understand local nuances, so that the over $19 billion spent so far by the World bank and allied institutions on innovation and entrepreneurship is more impactful, transforms more lives and addresses the real issues on ground.”
In conclusion, the Chairman of Transcorp Plc commended the US Government for this timely initiative and intervention but counselled on the importance of longevity and sustainability.
“For what we are gathered here to be sustainable, endure over time and lead to sustained prosperity, we must involve the Palestine people. Until we collectively agree that any economic plan we put in place for Palestine and the region must be anchored by and on the small and medium scale enterprises to be permanent and fundamentally address the issues, we will continue to rely on quick fixes.
“We must prioritise inclusive growth that brings all to the table – women and youth especially – which in turn will create more hope and beget more security and peace.
“To achieve this, there must be collaboration between the Palestinian people, friends of Palestine, neighbours of Palestine, and led by the wealthy and endowed elite in the Middle east, to work together to economically empower young Palestinians. It is not too difficult a task for us to touch significant numbers out of the 2-3 million youth in the region,” he disclosed.
He continued, “The Tony Elumelu Foundation is ready to deploy our expertise in collaboration with the wealthy elite from the Middle East region, to create an affirmative plan, and send a strong message of hope for the Palestinian young people. If we prioritise them and create the right future for them, we will signal a new beginning in this part of the world.
“Only then will we achieve security and peace permanently because these young people will become inclusive stakeholders and the true champions of prosperity.”
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the brewery companies in Nigeria, Champion Breweries, has received regulatory approval for its N42 billion public offer.
The brewer intends to use net proceeds from the public offer, together with an earlier N15.9 billion rights issue, to fund the acquisition of the Bullet brand portfolio through an asset carve out that transfers ownership of Bullet’s brands, trademarks, recipes and commercial rights across its African markets to Champion Breweries.
In addition, funds from the exercise would be used to support working capital requirements and growth initiatives in areas such as route to market, marketing, innovation and capacity expansion.
Bullet is Nigeria’s leading ready to drink alcoholic beverage and one of the top energy drink brands in its markets of presence. The brand is currently sold in 14 African countries and earns a significant portion of its revenues in foreign currency, providing Champion Breweries with a natural foreign exchange (FX) hedge and a platform for continued regional expansion.
In a statement to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Champion Breweries said it now has the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to raise the fresh funds.
The company is selling a total of 2,625,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at a unit price of N16.00, payable in full on application.
Application for the public offer opened on Thursday, January 8, 2026, and will close on Wednesday, January 21, 2026.
The lead issuing house for the public offer is Rand Merchant Bank Nigeria Limited, while the joint issuing houses are FBNQuest Merchant Bank Limited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited, CardinalStone Partners Limited, Greenwich Merchant Bank Limited, Chapel Hill Denham Advisory Limited, Comercio Partners Capital Limited, and Fortress Capital Limited, with Africa Prudential as the registrar.
The exercise, according to the Champion Breweries, gives institutional and retail investors an opportunity to participate in its “next phase of growth.”
“The opening of our public offer is an invitation for investors to share in the next phase of Champion Breweries’ growth. With the Bullet acquisition, we are combining nearly 50 years of brewing heritage with a proven pan African RTD and energy drink platform,” the Managing Director of Champion Breweries, Mr Inalegwu Adoga, said.
“Champion Breweries’ story is one of disciplined execution and smart capital deployment. The asset carve out structure for Bullet will mean we can unlock FX earnings and scale quickly, without heavy upfront investment in new plants. This public offer allows a wider pool of investors to participate in that strategy,” the Managing Director of enJOYcorp, Mr David Butler, added.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced January 14, 2026, for the pre-bid conference of the 2025 oil and gas licensing round.
The conference comes as the federal government intensifies efforts to attract fresh upstream investments.
In an announcement notice dated January 8, 2026, and signed by the commission’s chief executive, Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, the event will take place in Lagos.
The notice, published on the official X handle of the agency, said, “The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission is proud to announce the 2025 licensing round pre-bid conference scheduled for 9 am on Wednesday, January 14, 2026, at the Grand Ballroom, Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos.”
The pre-bid conference is a key milestone in the licensing round process and is expected to provide prospective investors with detailed guidance on the conduct of the bid exercise.
According to the organisation, discussions at the conference will focus on the implementation timetable for the licensing round, bid package preparation, eligibility requirements, as well as the assessment criteria and procedures for determining winning bidders.
The upstream regulator explained that the announcement followed an earlier notice published in both local and international newspapers, in compliance with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“The focus areas of the upcoming pre-bid conference include the implementation timetable, bid package preparation, eligibility terms, and the assessment and winners’ determination procedure. Interested members of the public are urged to register for the pre-bid conference through the portal br2025.nuprc.gov.ng,” the notice stated.
It added that comprehensive information on the licensing round, including guidelines, block descriptions and participation instructions, is available on the commission’s website.
“Detailed information on the licensing round guidelines, block descriptions and participation instructions is also available on the website, nuprc.gov.ng. We look forward to your participation,” it concluded.
Recall that last year, the erstwhile Commission Chief Executive, Mr Gbenga Komolafe, announced that the 2025 oil block licensing bid round would commence on December 1.
The 2025 licensing round, expected to offer 50 blocks across multiple terrains, is part of a broader agenda to rebuild confidence in Africa’s largest oil producer, deepen indigenous participation, and reposition Nigeria as a competitive investment destination.
The licensing round comes at a time when Nigeria is seeking to reverse years of declining upstream investment caused by regulatory uncertainty, oil theft and project delays.
Since the enactment of the Petroleum Industry Act in 2021, the NUPRC has overseen multiple bid rounds aimed at improving transparency, competitiveness and investor confidence in the upstream sector.
Pre-bid conferences have become increasingly important under the PIA regime, as they provide clarity on fiscal terms, compliance obligations and the evaluation framework, helping to reduce disputes and post-award uncertainty.
The last licensing round conducted by the commission attracted a mix of indigenous and international players, with the regulator pledging to ensure a transparent and commercially competitive process.
The NUPRC said it looks forward to broad participation at the Lagos conference, signalling what could be another major test of investor appetite for Nigeria’s upstream assets.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, has wooed American investors, declaring that the country will focus on disciplined reforms and transparent markets to restore investor confidence in the country.
Mr Cardoso disclosed this after leading Nigeria’s engagement with senior business leaders and global investors at the US-Nigeria Executive Business Roundtable in Washington, convened by the US Chamber of Commerce’s US–Africa Business Center.
According to him, Nigeria used the platform to send a clear message to international capital: the country is focused on macroeconomic stability, regulatory clarity, and private sector-led growth.
“With global capital cautious and highly selective, we presented Nigeria’s message clearly and practically: disciplined reform, transparent markets, and credible institutions,” the CBN Governor said.
He noted that discussions at the roundtable centred on stabilising the macroeconomic environment and strengthening the financial system to support sustainable business expansion.
“Our discussions focused on macroeconomic stabilisation, regulatory clarity, and fostering private sector-led growth, laying the groundwork for a deeper phase of US–Nigeria commercial engagement,” Mr Cardoso stated.
Looking ahead to 2026, the CBN chief outlined an ambitious reform agenda aimed at reinforcing Nigeria’s financial architecture and improving the operating environment for businesses and investors.
“We will continue to strengthen the banking system through rigorous supervision and sound governance,” he said, adding that the apex bank would also “refine our inflation-targeting framework to deliver durable price stability.”
Mr Cardoso disclosed plans to modernise Nigeria’s payments infrastructure to boost efficiency and financial inclusion, while also promoting responsible fintech innovation anchored on consumer protection and financial integrity.
He further revealed that the CBN would deploy data and artificial intelligence-enabled tools to enhance regulatory responsiveness and execution.
“We will continue to build institutional capacity within the Bank, leveraging data and AI-enabled tools to support faster, more responsive, and higher-quality execution,” he said.
The central banker stressed that sustained reform, rather than short-term measures, remains critical to unlocking long-term growth and investment.
“Reform is a process that rewards consistency and discipline. Our focus remains steady: to protect trust, sustain stability, and entrench the foundations for disciplined, lasting economic growth in Nigeria,” he added.
He noted that the engagements signalled growing international confidence in Nigeria’s reform trajectory, positioning the country for deeper commercial ties with the United States and renewed inflows of global capital in the year ahead.
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