Nigeria, Sept. 28 -- Conversations during economic summits on Africa clearly indicate that governments alone cannot transform Africa's economic fortunes. While African countries bet on foreign investment, or depend on borrowing and aid, a thinking still rooted in our colonial history, something more fundamental is taking place across the continent: the capacity of young Africans to create businesses, jobs and solutions to problems around them.

This significant shift by young Africans, demonstrating their capacity to innovate and launch businesses of their own, leads us to Africapitalism, the economic philosophy associated with Nigerian entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Elumelu. The philosophy is simple: Africans must play a central ro...