Nigerian billionaire and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony Elumelu, is backing a proposed $15 billion investment pipeline aimed toward financing crucial infrastructure tasks throughout West Africa and addressing the area’s infrastructure deficit.
Elumelu, who additionally serves as co-chair of the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit (WAIIS), disclosed the initiative in an e mail response to questions from Bloomberg, which reported the event on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
The initiative entails figuring out viable tasks throughout a number of West African nations and presenting them to potential financiers, together with United Bank for Africa (UBA), Afreximbank, Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) and Africa50, forward of the inaugural summit in Sierra Leone in November.
Summit targets $15 billion infrastructure pipeline
According to Elumelu, the proposed investment portfolio will prioritise power, commerce, industrialisation, strategic minerals, agriculture and digital infrastructure tasks thought-about important for West Africa’s financial improvement.
The initiative has attracted substantial curiosity from venture builders, with organisers narrowing down submissions to a portfolio thought-about appropriate for presentation to potential traders.
Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella, Special Envoy for the West Africa Integration and Investment Summit, disclosed that 170 proposals had been acquired, with 26 tasks chosen from greater than 10 nations.
- “We received 170 project submissions and have selected 26 real projects worth more than $10 billion from over ten countries,” Yumkella mentioned in a press release issued by the summit organisers.
- “We expect that portfolio to reach $15 billion or more,” he added, indicating that the worth of chosen tasks may enhance earlier than the November summit.
The summit, initiated and convened by Sierra Leone’s President, Julius Maada Bio, is anticipated to convey collectively governments, traders and improvement finance establishments to speed up financing for strategic regional tasks.
Nigeria-Morocco gasoline pipeline advances regional integration
The newest investment initiative comes as West African nations pursue main cross-border infrastructure tasks aimed toward strengthening regional connectivity, power safety and financial integration.
Among essentially the most outstanding is the $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, often known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, which is being developed with the backing of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The proposed pipeline will transport pure gasoline from Nigeria by way of a number of West African nations to Morocco, with connections to European power markets.
- In June 2022, the Federal Executive Council accredited the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) to negotiate an agreement with ECOWAS to advance the cross-border pipeline venture.
- By December 2022, Nigeria, Morocco and ECOWAS had formalised cooperation through a memorandum of understanding covering project development and financing. NNPC subsequently signed extra agreements involving The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Ghana.
- More lately, in April 2026, Nairametrics reported that Nigeria and Morocco were preparing to conclude an intergovernmental agreement supporting plans to move as much as 30 billion cubic metres of pure gasoline yearly.
- The deal moved ahead when, in July 2026, ECOWAS member states signed an intergovernmental agreement in Sierra Leone, establishing a framework for venture administration, regional coordination and investment mobilisation.
The developments spotlight the rising emphasis on regional infrastructure investment as West African economies search to handle longstanding financing gaps and strengthen financial integration.
Elumelu expands Seplat Energy stake
Beyond regional infrastructure financing, Elumelu has continued to increase his investments in Nigeria, notably within the power and monetary companies sectors.
- On September 30, 2026, Heirs Energies Limited, an organization managed by Elumelu, acquired an additional six million shares in Seplat Energy Plc, growing the mixed holdings of Heirs Energies and Heirs Holdings from 120.4 million to 126.4 million shares.
- The transaction raised their mixed voting curiosity in Seplat from 20.07% to 21.07%, additional strengthening Elumelu’s place within the power firm.
- According to a Nairametrics evaluation revealed on October 5, the estimated market worth of Elumelu’s investments in Seplat Energy, UBA and Transnational Corporation Plc elevated by N684.59 billion between June and September 2026.
The mixed worth of the three holdings rose from roughly N1.74 trillion on the finish of June to N2.43 trillion in September, representing a 39.3% quarterly enhance.
Seplat accounted for N654.20 billion, roughly 95.6% of the entire appreciation, whereas UBA contributed N44.50 billion.
