“Investment, Not Charity!” Shettima Tells Africa to Stop Begging for Aid and Start Hunting for ‘Patient Capital’

Nigeria is leading the charge for a new kind of “money talk” across the continent. Vice President Kashim Shettima has sent a blunt message to African leaders and development partners: the era of waiting for foreign aid to “save” Africa is over. Instead, he says the continent must embrace “strategic capitalism” to build a future that actually lasts.

Speaking on Wednesday at the Africa Social Impact Summit (ASIS) 2026 in Abuja, the Vice President represented by his adviser, Hauwa Liman argued that for too long, development has been viewed as a bill to be paid rather than a profit to be made. He insisted that the real fuel for Africa’s growth will not come from handouts, but from “patient capital” and private investments that are willing to wait for long-term rewards.

“The future of this continent will not be financed by aid alone,” Shettima declared. “It will be financed by private enterprise deployed at scale and guided by impact. Impact investing is not charity with better branding; it is strategic capitalism.”

But the VP didn’t just show up with a speech; he brought the checkbook or at least the platforms to fill it. The summit saw the official launch of the Women and Youth Financial and Economic Inclusion (WYFEI) platform, which makes Nigeria the first country to implement the African Union’s massive empowerment program.

In a move to tackle the roots of poverty, the government also unveiled the Nigeria Foundational Learning Fund, specifically designed to get millions of out-of-school children back into classrooms and ensure they actually learn to read and write. This was topped off with the creation of the Business Coalition for Education, a group meant to get Nigeria’s biggest CEOs to put their money where the future is.

The Vice President’s “tough love” message comes at a time when global aid budgets are shrinking. By reframing development as a business opportunity for the private sector, the Tinubu administration is betting that investors will find more value in a stable, educated Nigerian workforce than donors ever found in a “distress call.”

As the summit continues, the goal for 2026 is clear: turn “good intentions” into “good business” so that the next generation of Africans doesn’t have to look outside the continent for their next meal or their next job.