At the signing ceremony, the Executive Director/ CEO of NEPC, Mr Olusegun Awolowo, said “NEPC is delighted to embark on this journey with The Tony Elumelu Foundation as we jointly create an army of exporters to drive non-oil exports and promote the diversification of Nigeria’s export portfolio for inclusive and sustainable economic growth. We have keenly admired the work that The Tony Elumelu Foundation has been doing with entrepreneurs across Africa and took a cue from President Muhammad Buhari GCFR to support these efforts on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the EEFP under the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP). We hope that this grant of N400 million targeted specifically to the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Nigerian entrepreneurs will spur other governments in Africa to support the Foundation in its audacious drive to create tens of thousands of entrepreneurs across the continent of Africa”.

Speaking at the event, Mrs Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, CEO of The Tony Elumelu Foundation said, “At the Foundation we are catalysing economic growth, driving poverty eradication and ensuring job creation by empowering African entrepreneurs. Since the launch of the TEF  Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, we have empowered over 10,000 entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries with funding, mentorship, business management training, and access to key networks. We commend and are pleased to partner with the NEPC to further empower 50 young TEF Nigerian entrepreneurs with additional funding support especially post covid-19. Our partnership with the Nigerian government presents a unique opportunity to showcase the quality minds and products that we have in Nigeria to the rest of the world, and we look forward to replicating this novel partnership with other governments across Africa.”

The signing ceremony which held at the Export House in Abuja had Alumni from the TEF network of over 4,000 Nigerian entrepreneurs present to share their business success stories with the Executive Director/CEO NEPC Olusegun Awolowo.

The strategic objective of the N400 million grant is to promote export inclusion, market access, and minimise logistical and export trade facilitation challenges. Selected beneficiaries are from the TEF Alumni network of over 10,000 African entrepreneurs who have been trained, mentored, and funded to enable their businesses grow. Beneficiaries will receive one-on-one coaching, advisory services on product development, market information under the NEPC’s Youth Export Development Programme and other value adding support that will enable them produce exportable products. The partnership will also leverage TEF’s proprietary digital platform TEFConnect which currently supports over 1.5 million Africans. The partnership will address the liquidity crisis faced by entrepreneurs within the continent because of the economic effect of the COVID 19 pandemic.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s USD100 million Entrepreneurship Programme which was launched in 2015 is open to entrepreneurs across all countries in Africa, both new start-ups and existing young businesses, operating in all major economic sectors. Successful applicants receive world-class business training, mentorship, non-refundable seed capital of US$5,000, and global networking opportunities.

The Foundation’s unique digital infrastructure TEFConnect.com is the largest online platform for African entrepreneurs and further provides options for market expansion and visibility for entrepreneurs ready to scale their businesses across borders.

The Export Expansion Facility Programme (EEFP), under the Federal Government’s N2.3 trillion Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP) is designed to protect export businesses from the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, safeguard jobs and de-risk the economy from future shocks by focusing on driving economic growth through exports.

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During her session on “Increased Capital Flows: How to leverage Global Finance for Africa”, Ifeyinwa presented how funding grassroots African Entrepreneurs who do not have access to institutional loans can improve their performance, which will directly impact the socio-economic conditions on the continent.

Here are 5 memorable quotes from her session:

On why African Entrepreneurs need funding:

In an environment like ours, loans are not easily accessible for small businesses and without funding, a business is only but an idea. Most of the PE opportunities are of larger sums and need businesses to not only demonstrate that they are scalable, but also that they can manage their financials.

On how human resources on the continent can drive economic output

The reason why a lot of attention is placed on Africa is because home grown resources are available. To attract more capital into markets, a model like ours that trains, funds, and monitors their business performance. With our bespoke training, we equip these entrepreneurs with the necessary skills and afford them the opportunity to prove their concept with a seed capital of $5,000.

On the role of the Tony Elumelu Foundation in making SMEs desirable to Private Equity:

The reality is that investment commitments and increased capital flow require substantive groundwork, and therefore, programmes like the Tony Elumelu Foundation entrepreneurship programme go a long way in paving the way for these businesses. Through our programme, start-ups are equipped with elemental knowledge, training, skills, and resources that guide their journey to becoming investable.

On how to leverage global financing :

More grassroot funding opportunities is needed to leverage Global Finance for Africa. We need more systems, more support in de-risking small businesses so they can grow, scale their operations, and attract larger funding opportunities. Prioritizing SMEs means more grassroots financing, finding creative and innovative approach to funding, so that buckets of small businesses are not left out in receiving support to scale.

On the future of African Entrepreneurs through collaborative financing:

This year, with the support of partners from developmental organizations and private entities, the Tony Elumelu Foundation will fund over 4500 entrepreneurs – after having trained 200,000 – as part of the 2021 cohort. This means that about 4500 entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to integrate across different sectors. This means that about 4500 entrepreneurs stand the chance to attract larger funding opportunities that will in themselves, create the kind of prosperity that will support socio-economic transformation in the continent and beyond.

The post How To Leverage Global Financing For Africa: TEF CEO, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.