At the largest annual gathering of African
entrepreneurs, held in Lagos, Nigeria, the Tony Elumelu Foundation
(TEF) hosted almost 1,000 women and men from 54 African
countries, for the 2nd TEF Entrepreneurship Forum.
The Forum celebrates the 2016 cohort of Elumelu Entrepreneurs,
selected from over 45,000 applicants. It is
the annual highlight of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme and saw
the presence of leading policy makers and business leaders from
across Africa, giving their support to the
Foundation and its promise to identify, train, mentor and seed 1,000
entrepreneurs in a decade-long $100
million commitment. Following the Forum, each
entrepreneur is eligible to receive up to $10,000 to implement their
business plan.
Applauding Tony Elumelu’s promise to not only empower entrepreneurs,
but also to tackle the fundamental
economic challenges confronting the African continent, His Excellency
Ernest Bai Koroma, President of Sierra Leone called on others to emulate
Elumelu. “Even when we had Ebola in Sierra Leone, Tony was there. His is
an example which other successful Africans must follow.”
Focusing on the uniqueness of TEF’s approach to entrepreneurship
development, President Koroma hailed the programme as “a genuinely innovative
approach to philanthropy in Africa – an African offering African
solutions”.
“What is unique about this programme is that it not only provides a
platform for entrepreneurs to build connections, but they are also being taught
how to build their businesses in a sustainable way. Other philanthropists
will be inspired to support and promote this philosophy” the
President concluded.
In his keynote speech, Mr. Elumelu stated “I salute those here, our
ambition is that you become ambassadors for entrepreneurship in Africa – you
are a generation of wealth creators, who share our commitment to the economic
and social transformation of Africa. Let me tell you
about Momarr Mass Taal, the CEO of Tropingo Foods, who
has turned his first $5,000 seed capital received from the Foundation last
year, into a $1.2 million revenue business. I want many more of
these! However, as excited as I am about the 2,000 entrepreneurs that we
have selected, this gathering is in some ways bittersweet, as I reflect on
the 63,000 ideas we were unable to select – our commitment is to all
entrepreneurs in Africa.”
Mr Elumelu challenged all stakeholders from the public and private
sectors, civil society, multilateral organizations and all individuals invested
in Africa’s economic development to join hands with the Foundation to support
the wider African entrepreneurial community. “We need to support our
entrepreneurs because extreme poverty and economic opportunity rarely coexist
in the same place.”
He also announced partnerships with regional institutions the African
Development Bank, ECOWAS, and others including Coca Cola, the International
Trade Centre, Nigerian Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism and Côte
d’Ivoire Ministry of Entrepreneurship.
The two-day forum buzzed with energy as entrepreneurs shared and
gained knowledge, built cross-border partnerships, and connected with investors
and policymakers, fulfilling the goal of fostering innovation and
collaboration between entrepreneurs from across Africa.
On Day One, attendees benefited from masterclasses
on traditional and alternative means of financing, sales and marketing, as well
as sector specific workshops and an in-depth session on Africapitalism -
Elumelu’s economic philosophy that identifies the leading
role of Africa’s private sector, including its entrepreneurs, in
Africa’s transformation.
In her opening remarks, Mrs. Awele Elumelu, CEO Avon Medical, Trustee
of the Foundation and wife of Founder, Mr. Elumelu, welcomed the entrepreneurs
to Lagos and commended their drive and effort in finding solutions to some of
the continent’s most pervasive challenges. The CEO of the Foundation, Ms.
Parminder Vir, invited entrepreneurs in the audience to continue to build the future
and to challenge the flawed perceptions of Africa.
Day Two featured a high-level
panel dedicated to identifying policies to strengthen the
enabling environment for entrepreneurs, moderated by BBC anchor, Lerato
Mbele, with panellists including His Excellency Ernest Bai Koroma, President of
Sierra Leone, President Olusegun Obasanjo, Former President of
Nigeria, Former Prime Minister of Benin RepublicLionel Zinsou, Alhaji Lai
Mohammed, Honourable Minister of Information, Tourism and Culture and Mrs. Folorunsho
Alakija, Vice Chair of Famfa Oil.
Opening the High-Level Panel, Mrs. Alakija congratulated the
entrepreneurs, praised TEF’s focus on entrepreneurship and shared
her own personal story of perseverance to demonstrate the
entrepreneurs need for resilience and doggedness. Former President Olusegun
Obasanjo hailed Elumelu's perseverance and focus on giving back. "By every
means, God has made His face shine upon you. You are not the only one, but
unlike you, some others do not have the idea of empowering the next generation
of Africans in the manner and scale that you are doing." He
further emphasized patience to the young entrepreneurs. In his words, “For
strength in life you need a bit of adversity.” He also called on the
Nigerian government to implement policies that encourage investors
and entrepreneurs to do business in Nigeria. Former Prime Minister of Benin,
Lionel Zinsou, commended the Tony Elumelu Foundation, stating “What Tony
Elumelu is doing is the exception, not the norm.”
Other speakers at the event included Clare
Akamanzi, Representative of President Kagame of Rwanda, Kennedy Uzoka,
Group CEO of the United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), Minster
of Solid Minerals, Hon. Kayode Fayemi, Segun Awolowo, CEO of the Nigerian
Export Promotion Council, Clem Ugorji, Public Affairs & Communications
Director, Coca-Cola West Africa, Emeke Iweriebor, Regional CEO of UBA Africa
(Francophone), Matthew Pearson, Head of Africa Equity Sales at ICBC Standard
Bank, Sam Nwanze, Chief Investment Officer at Heirs Holdings.
Details of the 2016 Elumelu Entrepreneurs can be found at http://tonyelumelufoundation.org/teep/ and
TEF’s documentary “Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs: Transforming Africa” at http://bit.ly/TEEPdocumentary.
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