By Stanley Onyeka, Lagos
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), yesterday, announced the appointment of Nigeria’s Tony Elumelu, and eight other global thought leaders to join its newly-established, Advisory Council on Entrepreneurship and Growth.
Mr. Elumelu, Founder and Group Chair, Heirs Holdings, and the other members are expected to share their views and experiences on how entrepreneurship and productivity can be promoted by macroeconomic and financial policies.
The Advisory Council, convened by IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, aligns with the Fund’s overall goal to identify policies that will improve resource allocation, foster innovation, and boost private sector-led economic growth, according to the Fund’s statement.
The Council boasts of business leaders, policymakers, and academics, dedicated to identifying and addressing regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship, including:
- Prof. Ufuk Akcigit, Arnold C. Harberger Professor of Economics, University of Chicago;
- Ambassador Reema Bandar Al-Saud, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States of America;
- Marc Benioff, Chair, CEO, and Co-Founder of Salesforce;
- Ana Botín, Executive Chair, Banco Santander;
- Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Chairman, Tata Group;
- Margherita Della Valle, Chief Executive, Vodafone Group;
- Robert Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Vista Equity Partners, and;
- Federico Sturzenegger, Argentine Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation.
Council’s role
Mr. 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.
A self-made entrepreneur, Elumelu’s embracing of entrepreneurship is fundamental to his concept of Africapitalism, his belief that Africa’s private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent’s development, making long-term investments, that deliver social and economic value.
Against this backdrop, aside from the Advisory Council’s mandate to recommend policies that enhance resource allocation, stimulate innovation, and catalyse sustainable private sector-led economic growth, Mr. Elumelu will also be instrumental in ensuring that Africa’s entrepreneurial potential is central to global economic policymaking.
Members are 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.
Agenda for Advisory Council
The statement explained that the Advisory Council was created in efforts to help IMF’s 191 member countries create more conducive macroeconomic and financial conditions for strong and durable economic growth driven by productivity enhancements.
Speaking at the Advisory Council’s inaugural meeting Wednesday, Ms Georgieva said: “The Council brings together a group of leading thinkers and practitioners in business, finance, academia, and policymaking.
“(They are) 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.
She continued: “The medium-term outlook for world economic growth is at its lowest in several decades. Much of the slowdown can be attributed to declining productivity growth.’
The Advisory Council will meet approximately once every three months in structured discussions under Chatham House rules.
The discussions with the Council will inform the IMF’s analytical agenda and policy research aimed at promoting macroeconomic and financial policies that are conducive to higher productivity growth and can support stronger medium-term economic prospects across its membership.
