A Hundred Million Dollars, Given Away on Purpose — Tony Elumelu, Africapitalism, and Betting on 10,000 Entrepreneurs

Tony Elumelu built a struggling bank into United Bank for Africa, spanning 20+ countries. Then he coined "Africapitalism" — the idea that African businesses, not aid, are the continent's real engine for growth — and put $100 million behind proving it, funding 10,000 entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries.

This short story follows both halves of that bet: the bank that proved the model could work, and the foundation built specifically to test it in the hardest markets — places most funding programs skip entirely. Includes a "Behind the Story" section separating documented fact from narrative detail.

An 8-10 minute read about putting real money behind your own economic theory.