Visionary investor and philanthropist Tony O. Elumelu will lead a discussion on investing in energy in Africa, dubbed Power Africa Initiative in Washington DC in the the USA, Friday, March 28.

Mr. Elumelu is the leading African investor in Power Africa, having committed $2.5 billion to the initiative through his proprietary investment company Heirs Holdings. He has been invited to testify tomorrow on behalf of the African private sector.

This is the first time an African private sector leader has been invited to contribute in this way to such a critical and strategic US policy (the most significant since AGOA was introduced in 2000).

It demonstrates the increasing global recognition that Africans must play a leading role in shaping the development of the continent, a concept key to Elumelu’sAfricapitalism philosophy.

The Power Africa initiative, a project of president Barrack Obama, is designed to double the number of people with access to power in sub-Saharan Africa by unlocking the substantial wind, solar, hydropower, natural gas, and geothermal resources in the region to enhance energy security, decrease poverty, and advance economic growth.

Mr. Elumelu's testimony is an opportunity not only to update the Committee on the progress made towards fulfilling Heirs Holdings’ $2.5 billion commitment to the Power Africa initiative, but also to begin changing the public narrative on Africa, to promote our entrepreneurial spirit and our ability to facilitate economic transformation from within.