TheCable

Tony Elumelu, chairman and founder of Heirs Holdings, was among the leaders who spoke at the peace to prosperity workshop which held in Bahrain, on Wednesday.

Jared Kushner, an aide of US President Donald Trump, and Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), were among the dignitaries at the event where Elumuelu recommended practical steps to unlock economic prosperity in Palestine and the Middle East.

The workshop was organised in partnership with the United States to launch the US growth strategy for Palestine and Middle East.

Elumelu noted the importance of supporting and empowering young Palestinians to ignite the entrepreneurial ecosystem and strengthen the country’s economy.

He said for the country to witness stable growth, young Palestinians must be empowered with jobs and economic opportunity to contribute meaningfully to their nation’s development.

“I come from Africa; and the reality is that we do have a lot of similarities with the Palestinian people; especially in the area of demographic make up, “he said.

“With over 60% of its nearly 5 million strong population under 30, the young people of Palestine need jobs. Without jobs, there will be no economic hope.

“Big corporations and government alone cannot supply the jobs demanded by Palestine’s demographic pressures. We need SMEs and startups to address joblessness in the region, create jobs and opportunities in local communities for millions of our Palestinian young brothers and sisters to become employed, meaningfully engaged, and full of economic hope, which in turn leads them away from extremism.

“In the 21st century, we cannot keep relying on western donors to help empower our own people; we must step up and create a platform where they may partner with us for scale, just as we are doing at the Tony Elumelu Foundation.”

Using the model adopted by his foundation in Nigeria as an example, Elumelu said: “Young Palestinian people need similar opportunities like the ones we currently give young African entrepreneurs through the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

“We acknowledge that given Africa’s huge numbers, we are touching only a top of the iceberg, but we have seen first-hand how this model transforms individual lives, families, communities and cities.

“Governments must play their own role: ensuring good governance is in place, prioritising infrastructure and the fight against corruption, and creating an enabling and conducive environment so that when these young Palestinians get opportunities, they can succeed.”