Billionaire entrepreneur Tony Elumelu and Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio are calling for stronger business ties across West Africa.
The two leaders want businesses to turn regional integration plans into real investments, industries, and jobs.
Their call came during a meeting in Lagos ahead of the first West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS).
Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, hosted Bio, the immediate past chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
A statement released Thursday said the discussions focused on turning West Africa’s economic potential into shared prosperity.
The meeting covered four key areas: energy and industrialisation, strategic minerals, agribusiness and digital transformation.
Bio said the summit would bring together businesses across a regional market of more than 400 million people.
“We are partners in execution let us transform ideas into partnerships, partnerships into investments, and investments into lasting prosperity for our continent,” the president said.
“But potential is not prosperity. Our task is to convert these advantages into productive enterprises, competitive industries, regional value chains, jobs and wealth.”
Elumelu welcomed Bio’s plan to place private investment and business growth at the centre of regional development.
He also pledged to help attract African and international investment alongside financial institutions, including the Africa Finance Corporation, Afreximbank, United Bank for Africa and Ecobank.
The businessman urged African companies to look beyond their home countries and work together to build stronger industries.
“This is consistent with our aspirations to create jobs for our young people. We have all it takes to be prosperous,” Elumelu said.
However, he stressed that businesses also need governments to create the right conditions for investment.
”Governments must provide the policy certainty, regulatory efficiency and security required to give investors the confidence to commit capital for the long term,” he added.
Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also highlighted the need for industrial growth and easier movement of goods and services across borders.
The West Africa investment summit is scheduled for November 17 and 18, 2026, at the Julius Maada Bio International Conference Centre in Lungi, Sierra Leone.
The event will bring together political leaders, investors and business executives to discuss investment opportunities across key sectors.
