Giving back to society

Last July, US President Barack Obama set the spark for his Power Africa programme that will help sub-Saharan African countries build power production and transmission projects and double their electricity access. President Obama announced in Cape Town, South Africa, his plan to mobilize $16 billion for investments that will generate 10,000 megawatts of electricity. With Nigerian billionaire and philanthropist Tony Elumelu pledging $2.5 billion towards that amount, it appears that Obama’s turn towards Africa is energizing the continent’s new philanthropic elites who can play a critical role in social enterprise, build capacity and pilot new technologies.