The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has appointed Heirs Holdings founder and chairman, Tony Elumelu, to its Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth.
The council, convened by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, is tasked with identifying regulatory obstacles to entrepreneurship and recommending policies to drive innovation and sustainable private sector growth.
“Elumelu, Africa’s leading advocate of entrepreneurship and whose Foundation has funded, mentored and trained over 25,000 African entrepreneurs since 2015, champions entrepreneurship as the engine for the economic transformation of Africa,” the IMF said in a statement on Friday, March 28.
A self-made entrepreneur, Elumelu is known for his philosophy of Africapitalism—the belief that Africa’s private sector must take the lead in the continent’s economic development by making long-term investments that generate both social and economic value.
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The IMF noted that his expertise would be crucial in ensuring Africa’s entrepreneurial potential is integrated into global economic policymaking.
Other members of the council include University of Chicago economist Professor Ufuk Akcigit, Saudi Ambassador to the U.S. Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Salesforce co-founder Marc Benioff, Banco Santander’s executive chair Ana Botín, Tata Group chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Vodafone Group CEO Margherita Della Valle, Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert Smith, and Argentine Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation Federico Sturzenegger.
At the council’s inaugural meeting on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, Georgieva stated: “The Council brings together a group of leading thinkers and practitioners in business, finance, academia, and policymaking to share their views and experiences on how macroeconomic and financial policies can provide a supportive environment for innovation, entrepreneurship, and productivity—key ingredients for a thriving private sector and strong economic growth.”