Elumelu first introduced the term "Africapitalism" in 2011[11] and had outlined the concept's main tenets and philosophies in numerous publications, including The Economist,[12] the Financial Times[13] and Fortune.
[20] The philosophy of Africapitalism was also a theme of the historic, first-ever US-Africa Summit hosted by President Obama in Washington, D.C. in August 2014;[21][22] and a panel at the Africa CEO Forum in Geneva in March 2014.
Local value creation was further explored during a public forum held in Abuja, Nigeria on January 7, 2015 when former CNN anchor Zain Verjee moderated a panel of experts[34][35] that included economist and proprietor of the economic classification terms "BRIC" and "MINT", Jim O'Neill, former Chief Economist of Goldman Sachs; Professor Tandeka Nkiwane, Special Advisor to the CEO of the New Economic Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD);[36] Matthew Bishop, globalization editor of The Economist; Amir Ben Yahmed, Managing Director of the Jeune Afrique Group; and Rasheed Adejare Olaoluwa, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, The Bank of Industry[37] In 2015, the Tony Elumelu Foundation partnered with a foundation in Africa, South Africa's Brenthurst Foundation on a book project.
In May 2015, he delivered a keynote address at Oxford University[41] on its potential to act as a catalyst for development in Africa, urging more deliberate efforts in driving a new kind of private- sector investment model.
A number of distinguished faculty members from Durham University made presentations to a diverse audience that included scholars, students, business people and investors.
[43][44][45][46] Titled Unleashing Africa's Entrepreneurs: Improving the Enabling Environment for Start-ups, it was first released to the public at a world-press conference on the sidelines of the 6th Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, Kenya on 25 July 2015.
[50] Africapitalism — along with similar efforts focused on a reformed capitalistic economic system that takes the social impact of business in to account — has received praise from academics, NGOs, government officials, development and anti-poverty experts and private sector investors.
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, in a keynote speech at the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship Summit,[51] celebrated the importance of "creating an entire climate in which innovation and ideas flourish.
Joel Bakan, law professor at the University of British Columbia, argues that the Africapitalist philosophy "places profound limits on the ability to do good," and that this sort of rhetoric can be used by big businesses to push towards deregulation.
[25] Africapitalism and other emerging capitalism reform philosophies have also been criticized as efforts to marginalize the role of government and transfer more influence to the private sector whose fundamental purpose is profit maximization as opposed to fostering broader prosperity.