By
Abdullahi Muhammad
Africa-Press – Mauritius. For decades, Africa’s development narrative has been outsourced from donors, consultants, and imported growth models. But a quiet rebellion is underway. Africapitalism, a philosophy rooted in indigenous entrepreneurship and long-term value creation, is challenging the orthodoxy of aid and extraction. It’s not just a slogan. It’s a call to reclaim economic agency, rewrite the rules of engagement, and build prosperity from within. A term coined and championed by a renowned Nigerian entrepreneur (Tony Elumelu), who is the chairman of Heirs Holdings, the UBA Group, and the Transcorp Group and the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), argues that Africa’s private sector, not foreign donors or external corporations, must take charge and lead the continent’s economic transformation. Unlike neoliberal capitalism, which focuses on profit maximization, Africapitalism insists that profit must serve a social purpose. The idea is to call upon African entrepreneurs to invest in ways that generate both economic returns and broad social impact, such as jobs, infrastructure, and human development. Far from being merely a slogan, Africapitalism embodies a deeper political-economic shift, one that represents Africa’s effort to rewrite the rules of engagement with global capitalism, but this time, on its own terms.
A Changing Global Context
The current predicament of Africa exemplifies what development theorists refer to as a “crisis of dependency.” For decades, African economies have been tied to the export of raw materials and import of finished goods, a structure that was deeply rooted in colonial history and sustained by global market hierarchies. Dependency theorists such as Andre Gunder Frank and Walter Rodney warned that such patterns lock countries into underdevelopment, thereby making them dependent on the industrialized core. Notwithstanding the fact that globalization has brought new investment and trade opportunities in the 1990s and 2000s, its benefit has inarguably been uneven. This can be seen by looking at how neoliberal reforms such as privatization, deregulation, and fiscal austerity measures have created market efficiencies, often at the expense of state capacity and social equity. As Karl Polanyi (1944) argued decades ago, “a self-regulating market was a stark utopia.” He further warned that disembedding the economy from society will lead to social dislocation and resistance. In Africa today, we are witnessing that resistance, not against the market entirely per se, but against the market that excludes. The rate of youth unemployment remains alarmingly high, with over 12 million young Africans entering the labor market every year, yet only a fraction of them can find formal jobs. In the same vein, external debts have climbed to over $1 trillion, while climate change is worsening food and energy security. Against this backdrop, Africapitalism offers a homegrown alternative. It seeks to embed the market in Africa’s social and developmental priorities, an idea that Polanyi might refer to as a “re-embedding of the economy in society.”
Africapitalism as a New Developmental Compact
At its core, Africapitalism rests on a simple but radical premise, emphasizing that Africa’s prosperity must be created by Africans and for Africans. It is worth noting that Africapitalism does not reject capitalism but seeks to Africanize it by anchoring enterprise in community, long-term value creation, and shared growth. Tony Elumelu defines it as “the private sector’s commitment to Africa’s economic transformation through investments that create both economic and social wealth.” His Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has been putting this idea into action by funding over 21,000 African entrepreneurs, training thousands more, and by so doing, helping in generating millions of jobs and billions in revenue across the continent. Another notable example is Aliko Dangote’s $19 billion refinery, which is one of the largest in the world. Commissioned in 2024, it is projected to meet Nigeria’s domestic fuel demand and export to West Africa, hence reducing reliance on costly fuel imports from Europe. Additionally, Dangote’s recent $1 billion infrastructure and industrial deal in Zimbabwe serves as one of the largest private-sector investments, thus embodying Africapitalism’s philosophy of African-led development through strategic infrastructure and industrial investment. However, Africapitalism is not just about giant projects; it also shows up in smaller but systemic ways. For instance, Tanzania’s Mohammed Dewji has been investing heavily in agribusiness and processing to reduce reliance on food imports and also to build value chains inside Africa.
In a way, these ideas resonate with Chalmers Johnson’s developmental state theory, which argued that successful late-industrialized countries combined market dynamism with state coordination. However, the twist in Africapitalism is that instead of the state, private actors are the ones leading the charge, but the logic stays the same. As Mark Beeson (2009) argued, even in an era of globalization, states remain “a potentially critical element of economic progress” when they harness markets to serve national interests. These insights are inherent in Africapitalism’s vision for Africa’s plural economies. It envisions a partnership between government and businesses, where the state provides infrastructure, education, and governance, while entrepreneurs drive innovation and employment. Therefore, the idea is neither statist nor neoliberal; I see it as a third way—an idea that recognizes the development of the 21st century as one that must be both competitive and inclusive.
Challenges and Safeguards
Of course, Africapitalism is not a cure-all magic wand. It faces real challenges such as weak governance, corruption, limited access to finance, and inadequate infrastructure. Critics worry it may only dress neoliberal capitalism in African rhetoric. These concerns are valid, but they also miss the transformative potential of institutional learning. As Beeson (2009) reminds us, developmental models succeed when they are contextual and adaptive. Therefore, Africapitalism will succeed only if it embeds strong governance in terms of transparent taxation, fair competition, and accountability for corporate behavior. States must regulate to ensure that “social wealth” creation is not rhetorical but measurable. Additionally, regional cooperation is crucial, as “no African country” can industrialize in isolation because shared energy grids, trade corridors, and innovation hubs are the ones that will magnify impact. Lastly, African governments and international partners must recognize that nurturing domestic capital is not economic nationalism; it is rather economic maturation. As Polanyi (1944) puts it, societies must protect themselves from market excesses and, at the same time, harness markets to meet human needs. Africapitalism captures this delicate balance.
Conclusion: Toward an African Century of Enterprise
In the mid-20th century, Africa’s development was imagined as a state-led project, but in the late 20th century, it became a market-led one. Africapitalism proposes a “society-led model,” one in which entrepreneurs, investors, and citizens come together to co-create prosperity, with governments as facilitators. This shift is more than economic; it is philosophical. It signals that Africa no longer defines itself through what it receives but through what it creates. The continent’s energy, creativity, and demographics are immense assets that must be utilized. What it needs now is a unifying vision of self-driven, socially conscious capitalism, one that turns local ambition into continental transformation. If properly institutionalized, Africapitalism could be that vision. It bridges theory and practice, combines profit with purpose, and grounds globalization in local agency. For policymakers and diplomats across the Global South, it offers a timely lesson. A path to sustainable development runs not through dependency, but through ownership of ideas, capital, and destiny. The question is: Can capitalism be African? Well, Tony Elumelu thinks so. But the answer will depend on whether his vision can survive Africa’s political realities.
moderndiplomacy
