New York, USA

5th December

Good evening Ladies and Gentlemen,

• Thanks so much for honouring us with your esteemed presence
• This is wonderful and symbolic for a variety of reasons
• First as President Bush said, President Eisenhower is a man of many dimensions, most importantly his leadership and being honoured and recognised today as a recipient of President Eisenhower’s Global Entrepreneurship award is one that resonates with so many people in Africa.
• We have a lot of enterprising and entrepreneurial brains on the African continent, what they need is purposeful leadership.
• This award tonight further energises, encourages and motivates me to do more to support our enterprising Africans who seek opportunities, who need encouragement and hope, who are intelligent, hardworking, who want to succeed and help to transform Africa.
• I hope that this recognition and award will further inspire other endowed Africans and friends of Africa who want to give and support Africa in the 21^st century to do so in a manner that helps to economically empower our young ones, encourage our women, make sure that we work together for an inclusive prosperity, one that touches everyone almost evenly.
• I want to dedicate this to my lovely wife, to our children, to the staff of UBA in 21 countries, over 20,000 of them, to the staff of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp and all the other companies in our group because they are the people who make it possible for me to continue to do what I do in supporting entrepreneurs in Africa.
• Their hard work, dedication, commitment and support have made it possible for this to happen so I want to say thank you to all of them.
• And finally, to BCIU, you have been amazing, on behalf of our entrepreneurs in Africa, over 3000 entrepreneurs who have benefitted from the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, I want to say thank you so much.
• From the bottom of our hearts, I want to commit that we will continue to support more entrepreneurs on the continent – it’s a 10 year commitment to support 10,000 entrepreneurs – the first cycle is just starting now, we will finish it and make sure that working with you and other friends of Africa and endowed Africans, it should go beyond the 10,000 entrepreneurs to even more because we do have over 600 million people who are under the age of 30 in Africa and they want to be economically empowered.
• Until we support these aspiring, hardworking young Africans, we should not sleep.
• So, to BCIU, thank you so much but for me and you also, the work has just begun.

Thank you.

Tony O. Elumelu, CON

Chairman, Heirs Holdings Group

Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation

Twitter: @TonyOElumelu; Facebook: Tony Elumelu, and Instagram @TonyOElumelu

Twitter: @Heirs_Holdings and Instagram: @HeirsHoldings

Twitter: @TonyElumeluFDN and Instagram: @TonyElumeluFoundation

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U.S. AND AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES ON LEADERSHIP

delivered by

Tony O. Elumelu, CON,

Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation

at the

Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit

2^nd August 2017

Washington, DC

PROTOCOL 

• • • As students of history, you must also recognize the role President Barack Obama played and most importantly we recognize Madiba himself.
    • I would like to start by thanking the US government for making this happen, creating a forum like this for those to whom the future of Africa belongs.

     

    • Africa indeed is in great need of leaders like Madiba and that is why it excites me to interact with you today, 1000 Africans that the future truly belongs and those who must seize the future to actually start to shape the destiny of our continent.

     

    • My colleagues prepared some remarks for me today, I am going to have it pasted on our website after our conversation today but I have decided that this should adopt a different pattern

     

    • This to me is like conversations with my siblings, conversations with my younger brothers and sisters from the same family. You have been through this programme, coming to the end and the academic work has been done, the conceptual definitions and understanding of leadership all shared with you.

     

     

    • I think what I want to do with you today is the practicality of it in the context of our continent and more importantly, a call to all of you to realize that Africa is indeed is in great need of 21^st century leaders who will help to transform the continent.

     

    • For a continent that is hugely endowed with so much, we should actually be a land of plenty but unfortunately, we have not been able to get it right and the only reason it is this way is the dearth of good leadership across both the private and public sectors.

     

    • I would like to share the burden that I carry as I travel all around the world and you see progress but the progress that you see in other parts of the world is a bit lacking on our continent so when the US government organizes an event like this and selects indeed great Africans like you, we must seize the opportunity.

     

    • That is what smart people do, when smart people get an opportunity, they exploit it fully. We would not be exploiting this if in some years to come, Africa remains the way it has always been.

     

    • Today, you are going to graduate and become Mandela fellows so I say congrats to all of you but more importantly you carry a huge moral burden, what you are going through or going to pass through is not an end, you should see it as a means to an end. Until you are able to fulfil the aspirations and dreams that Mandela had for Africa then it can be said you are not worthy to become an associate or fellow of Mandela

     

    • We must begin to walk the talk in Africa. If you are called an apostle or follower of someone, you should do no less.

     

    • Mandela lived a great life, he realized a purpose, that is, apartheid should be corrected, he also realized that for a man to dream is one thing but a dream is nothing if you don’t convert it to reality.

     

    • And so, having defined the purpose, he went about trying to make it possible and in the process, he encountered a lot of people, challenges, difficulties but he never gave up. He finally got the opportunity to bring his country together, South Africa got independence and ruled by blacks.

     

    • What he fought for –apartheid- was a system that was obnoxious and totally not good for the people. He loved people, he sacrificed his family for people, he sacrificed the active part of his life for his people and up to the end, you saw how he lived his life, in a continent were people want to die in office, he thought it was time to move on.

     

    • So you are going to be called Mandela fellows, Africa at a time like this needs you, Africa has gone through its own colonialism, our fathers fought for the political emancipation of Africa but today we have poverty.

     

     

    • Africa is colonized by hunger and poverty and so if you are called Mandela fellows, you should go back with an agenda that leadership occurs at every level and that whilst apartheid is gone, there are other forms of oppression, injustice and hardship and the greatest of it all is poverty, manifesting itself in so many other ways.

     

    • Youth unemployment in Africa is a challenge to all of us, it is a threat to everyone and at times I wonder if we or our leaders or everyone recognize what this means.

     

    • We must all work hard to put the youth out of the streets, failure to do that is a doom for all of us, we have natural resource and a demographic structure that if well harnessed can confer a competitive advantage on us as a continent in the 21^st century but we are not doing all that we need to do.

     

    • So, your generation should be a different generation, it should not be a talk generation. It should not be a generation that knows only how to complain but unable to change things when opportunity arises.

     

    • Your generation should not be a passive and docile generation, we know in Canada a man under the age of 39 Trudeau is the President, in France, Macron just came on.

     

    • And so, if my generation is wasted and those who came before us, your generation should be different and don’t ever use my generation as a yardstick for not doing what you should be doing.

     

    • We must all realize that in the 21^st century no one but us will develop our continent.

     

    • And if we have failed to play that role, you must do things differently because you are better informed, the age you are operating is an age of empowerment, the age you have everything to make a difference.

     

    • We should stop being totally passive about how we are governed

     

    • When we were growing up, we used to think that politics was for second class people but we have long realized the stupidity in that kind of thought, the basics supports the super structure because if you have a weak foundation the structure will not last.

     

    • We remain a continent whose destiny is shaped by people who we think or call second class citizens

     

    • And I say to people, when you go to a country (and I know for afact a country), where a mad man directs the flow of traffic. It tells you that something is fundamentally wrong with that society, it tells you that everyone is beneath the IQ of that mad man or the mad man will shape everyone to operate in that fashion and that is what this generation should be intolerant of otherwise you will not be paying a good reward to the name you are carrying or to the US government that has thought it wise, really wise because I am one of those people who have said the age we live in is not one of handouts, teach people how to become self-reliant and fishermen.

     

    • And I believe that knowledge is one of the best things you can give to mankind and gathering all of you from 49 African countries in this room, 1000 of you to train you about the values of leadership is indeed one of the best gifts anyone can give to us as a continent but it behooves all of us to take advantage of this unique moment and opportunity.

     

    • So, as you go back to your respective places, you must make certain resolutions

     

    • First, you should tell yourself that this is just a beginning – a call to action and that you will fulfil the action

     

    • Two, you must tell yourself the that leadership is not all about the President or political leadership and that  leadership occurs at every level. There is so much that every one of us can do and you must play your own part in making this happen.

     

    • ]I’m told that in the gathering, we have entrepreneurs, people in the public sector, NGO/civil society.

     

    • I was discussing with some of my colleagues last week that a society that lacks pressure groups will not survive and that is what I see in most African countries. We must hold our political leaders accountable, we must ask for good leadership in the public and private sectors.

     

    • It is the minimum, absolute minimum that Africa needs at a time like this

     

    • Thirdly, you must tell yourself that this is not a complaint or complaining generation, this is a doing generation. We talk too much and we complain too much.

     

    • We must realize that there is no time in history than now that we have a renewed moment to assert leadership and you must realize that leadership to a large extent is not bestowed, it is not handed-over to you. You must prepare yourself for leadership and you will be able to accept it.

     

    • There is a leadership vacuum in Africa, in the public sector there is, in the private sector there is and that leader can be you. It should in fact be yourselves.

     

    • So I will end by saying, we have had struggles for political independence but we have come to realize that equally important, if not more important – economic employment, jobs for our young ones, economic prosperity for everyone, inclusive growth that recognizes everyone, bringing our womenfolk into the activities of the state and the economy.

     

    • Finally, if there is one thing you must not forget from today’s conversation is –legacy, it is legacy. I have tried to study mankind, I have tried to study leaders, both political and business leaders because I try to be a good leader and I have try to see those leaders that I respect and why they were successful.

     

    • Hindsight as they say is the biggest teacher, when I look at these people their lives, their doctrines, their writings, their philosophies etc. I see a common thread of legacy.

     

    • When you start with the end in view, you do well, so as young leaders to whom the future of our continent truly belongs, whom must struggle to assume leadership just like our parents struggled for political leadership, we must think legacy, you must ask yourself how will I like to be remembered.

     

    • Because it is in finding answers to those questions that true meaning of our existence as human beings is explained

     

    • When my family and I decided to launch the Tony Elumelu Foundation and endowed the Foundation with a sum of $100 million to train, capitalize and empower 10,000 Africans, we didn’t do it because we were the richest or because we have so much, we struggled to make it happen.

     

    • But it was all about defining, understanding and reconciling ourselves to how we want to be remembered long after we are gone because what does it profit anyone to keep all your resources in the Bank accounts, you don’t even know how your kids are going to spend the money

     

    • If you do not share part of it to bring economic prosperity to everyone realizing that poverty anywhere is a threat to mankind everywhere

     

    • So ladies and gentlemen as you go back, one word – legacy, thank you very much.

    Questions and Answers

    • Comment on why there are  African leaders that do not want to leave office?
    • The answer is legacy, when people realize that they cannot be in one place forever and that whatever you are today, the people coming after will even surpass it and think of what history will say about them, they will do things differently.
    • However, South Africa did not get independence on a platter of gold and that is why I say this generation maybe a different type of generation. to this generation, we need to demand what is good for us.
    • We are ruled by people who biologically have a few years to go and they are going to leave challenges for you.
    • We are being doomed and misled by those who have less than 10 more years on earth, so it calls into question a lot.
    • This generation does not even know the level of power they have. We live in a digital age where in Africa in ao= those under the age of 30 constitute 60% of our population.
    • So there is power to effect positive changes, just that it takes time for people to realize the power that they have and the old politicians are manipulating an exploiting this weakness.
    • Mandela fellows, you must always remember what Mandela stood for and in the context of what we are suffering today. His era was political apartheid, today it is difficult for people to eat and send children to school.
    • We must therefore friend true essence of who we are and who we want to be in the 21^st century by asking deep questions to ourselves.
    • What is the role of Tony Elumelu and the Tony Elumelu Foundation in changing the political frame in Africa?
    • Setting up the Tony Elumelu Foundation is about economically empowering our young ones and I would be happy if one day a Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur become the President of their country and it will happen.
    • We also play an advocacy role because we realize that for entrepreneurs to succeed, the operating environment must be right and we engage with government to help shape policies.
    • Some governments, we capacities them, we send fellows especially in economic management area.
    • So, I would say changing Africa is a collective responsibility for all of us. Every one of us must realize that we need Africa an improved Africa in the 21^st century because the truth is the world is moving and new leadership is evolving in other parts of the world and we may face a huge risk of Africa even retarding further instead of making progress
    • So Tony Elumelu, Tony Elumelu Foundation, yourselves, friends of Africa and other Africans  must realize that we need a new kind of leadership, public sector and private sector to move Africa forward.

     

    • How do you deal with other governments trying to interfere in Africa?
    • In the 21^st century, we need massive investments into Africa and investments should not have any coloration.
    • We should encourage Africans to invest in Africa, Chinese, Japanese, Americans because it is the inflow of investments that will ultimately help us to create the jobs that we need as a continent and that is encapsulated in the economic philosophy of Africapitalism.
    • That is the private sector getting involved by investing in key sectors that will help create economic prosperity and social wealth and we need to begin to change our mentality as a people.
    • In the 21^st century, we should be engaging in a different fashion to create opportunities.
    • If we have the right leadership, our leadership will engage in a manner that creates opportunities for their people. It is the lack of opportunities which is driven by the myopia of leadership that creates the kind of problems that we see

     

    • How did you do it, build UBA, what inspired you to start TEF and what happens after TEF?
    • The first reason is our people, what you are to the continent of Africa is what people are to our organization.
    • Our leaders should encourage you all because leaders who are there today will not be there forever.
    • So, great leaders have a pipeline of successors, so that when they live others will come in because it is inevitable. so, we assembled the right team, shared the aspirations, they owned it and bought into it and we had a three-tier strategic intent.
    • Tier 1 was to get a distressed bank and turn it around and make it viable and we gave ourselves timeframe. So leaders it’s always good to have a purpose, a vision and create milestones and put timeframe to it because I would like you to develop long term aspirations and to think long term in accomplishing those aspirations because it is in the long term that you actually create meaningful impact
    • If you don’t create milestones and make some wins, you maybe discouraged.
    • The second-tier intent was to become one of the top 10 banks in the country, work hard and accomplished it
    • The third-tier intent was to become of the top 3 banks and we accomplished that. so i will say that s. so all of this helped us to accomplish what we accomplished.
    • So I would say that significantly helped, getting the right people, thinking about what we want to achieve, setting milestones, working very hard, being resilient. All of these helped us to achieve what we want to achieve.
    • Motivation: I grew up as a typical African boy – born, bred and schooled in Africa, worked in Africa and attained a level of comfort. When I retired as CEO of UBA and asked myself if I can institutionalize luck because we are all a product of many factors, the kind of place you worked, the kind of leaders you have, your upbringing- So I just felt that it would be nice to give support to young Africans who have ideas and not capital.
    • When you have crossed the level you are today, it is easier for Banks to give you loans but at just concept, it would be hard for you to get loans.
    • The next thing was should it be a Nigerian or African focused Foundation, I realized I think it was Benjamin Disreali, that said this thing about poverty anywhere being a threat to mankind everywhere and because I am born in Nigeria, and more of an African citizen, there is need to let prosperity spread. At the end of the day, our hope is that not what we do as a Foundation but how we help to catalyze action for example, we talk to other organizations and say we have many people applying, take some and help. We want this to be a movement on the continent.
    • In 7years time, we would either do another programme or engage in other things but it’s all about creating economic opportunity for everyone.
    • Do you feel the overthrow of Gaddafi was justified?
    • I think it’s a tough question and my colleagues would be cringing that I should not say something but I want to say something.
    • Nature abhors vacuum and Africa we need to take our destiny into our hands.
    • We must be concerned about the narrative on Africa, we must be able to tell our stories ourselves. We must be able to let those we relate with know things that are important to us as a people.
    • We must not allow our agenda to be set for us. Leadership is not alien to Africa, when my grandparents talk about Africa, you see leadership is firmly rooted in our history and origin as a people and the way we define leadership is different from China.
    • We must not allow one form of leadership define the leadership for the rest of the world. People have argued and I’m in that camp that the absence of some people have created regional and security imbalance. We also have seen the situation where people have repented and turned a new leaf and become better leaders. At some point, the world will debate some of these issues political students and actors who played a role will comment further on this issue.
    • What do we do to encourage other endowed Africans to support young entrepreneurs?
    • I am a strong believer in prosperity and in the fact, we should not criminalize wealth but it becomes an issue when your wealth is self-centered because the type of growth we need in Africa is inclusive growth and mutual prosperity.
    • And this is defined in the legacy, I think it is a deficit of the mind for a man to think hee can accumulate wealth forever. You must find how to share what you accumulate.
    • I think we should engage in social media, writing in a constructive many to show that what we are doing and I have seen how what we are doing is catalyzing others .
    • And it happens, the history of America where philanthropy is significantly advanced it took the passing of JP Morgan, Vanderbilt for the world to wake up to do things differently.
    • It is a journey, it has begun and we hope that others will catch up. It’s about legacy, not the money in your bank account that people will remember you for , it’s the impsct thst you created people will remember you for.
    • How do you deal with rejection?

    Entrepreneurs do not give up, they are resilient

    • Can you prescribe a career path to those who enter politics?

    I totally support paying our leaders well, let’s support them so that we can hold them firmly accountable. The reason we don’t have it is because when people are in office, they don’t thin legacy and they don’t distinguish themselves. Those public-sector leaders should realize there is life after service.

     

    • How do you help capital intensive businesses like mine to scale and will you be willing to invest in my business?

    I can’t tell you if I will invest but send a mail to Heirs Holdings in terms of scale we are trying to set up a pan African fund. Congratulations on your success, that is what you all owe me to create more jobs.

    Thank you.

Tony O. Elumelu, CON

Chairman, Heirs Holdings Group

Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation

Twitter: @TonyOElumelu; Facebook: Tony Elumelu, and Instagram @TonyOElumelu

Twitter: @Heirs_Holdings and Instagram: @HeirsHoldings

Twitter: @TonyElumeluFDN and Instagram: @TonyElumeluFoundation

The post [Keynote Address] U.S. AND AFRICAN PERSPECTIVES ON LEADERSHIP by Tony O. Elumelu, CON. appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Entrepreneurship: an antidote to Nigerian youth unemployment

 delivered by

Tony O. Elumelu, CON,

Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation

at the

Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto

The First National Dialogue Series (NDS)

 29^th July 2017

Sokoto

PROTOCOL 

• Your Excellency, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, Governor of Sokoto state;

• The Vice Chancellor, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Professor Abdullahi Zuru; Members of the governing council, the leadership of this great university;

• The Executive Director of UBA;

• Regional Director, UBA, Sokoto Region;

• My dear students and future Leaders, Ladies and gentlemen.

• My name is Mr. Tony O. Elumelu (CON) and I am the Chairman of Heirs Holdings Limited, an African proprietary investment company, with interests in power, oil and gas, financial services, hospitality, real estate and healthcare, present in twenty African countries.

• I am also the Chairman of the UBA Group, a pan African Bank that operates in 22 countries – 19 in Africa and present in the UK, US and France.

• And most importantly, I am the Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation which is committed to empowering young African men and women as my contribution towards the development of our continent.

• This is borne out of my deep-rooted belief that entrepreneurship is the single most critical ingredient for economic empowerment and job creation.

• I’m honoured indeed to be here this morning and I want to commend the VC of this great institution, and the governing council and of course the members of the administration for thinking it wise and proper to institute this type of national dialogue series.

• I commend Dr. Shadi Sabeh for his role in organizing this event.
• Shadi is an Entrepreneur and alumnus of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) as a past winner of the Tony and Awele Elumelu prize for academic excellence.

• Shadi is a fine example of the great force and impact our young ones can achieve if we support and empower them- I remain enormously proud of him!

• I am equally honoured to enjoy the rare privilege of speaking to young people – the leaders of tomorrow, you indeed are the leaders of tomorrow.

• It is important for me that the venue for this event is this historical institution. The Usmanu Danfodiyo, has such rich legacy, an impeccable pedigree, and an outstanding academic track record, that distinguishes it as one of Nigeria’s finest institutions.

• If you are a student of this great university, you have every reason to be proud, and if you are an alumnus, you equally have every reason to be proud

• So, let’s clap for ourselves

• I am always pleased when I receive invitations from our own institutions such as this to address our young people. The opportunity to impart knowledge, share my experience and interact closely with our youth is an honour I consider invaluable.

• Knowledge is the greatest gift, there is no gift as great as knowledge to mankind and to the world.

• When people are knowledgeable, they become good entrepreneurs, they do great things for mankind but when people are not informed and do not have knowledge, they go astray.

• So, I commend again this kind of initiative that brings today’s leaders and the people to whom the future truly belongs to interact and share perspectives.

• It is my sincere desire that you will have more educative and enlightening sessions.

• The topic for today- “Entrepreneurship: an antidote to Nigerian youth unemployment” is one that I am passionate about and one that is extremely relevant today given the unemployment challenges that we face in Nigeria and Africa at large.

• The truth is that the current unemployment concerns cannot be solved by more government jobs – we need to democratize job creation! And the surest way to achieve this is by creating and empowering more entrepreneurs.

• Only entrepreneurs can create the millions of jobs we need to power our economy out of poverty.

• So, nothing gladdens my heart than to sit with you to create more converts, more entrepreneurs and more Shadis out of this university.

• Last week, in honour of an invitation from H.E. President Paul Kagame, I was in Rwanda, addressing a group of inspiring young Africans just like you: I sat on the opening panel to discuss the topic ‘How do we get to 10 million jobs by 2020?’

• I emphasized that African leaders – government, private sector and development partners – must focus on three central issues if we are to meet our goal of prosperity and opportunity for all. One of these pillars is ‘Entrepreneurship’.

• I stressed the need to assist our young entrepreneurs by creating the enabling environment and supporting policies that allow them to thrive.

• Let us rescue our young African entrepreneurs by providing them with all the tools they need to succeed!

• If we are serious about solving the unemployment challenges we face in Nigeria and by extension Africa, we must fully address these issues restraining our entrepreneurs from reaching their full potential.
  • Addressing issues such as access to land and capital, fair taxes and less government bureaucracy, will go a long way in supporting SMEs to grow their businesses.

• But that is not the focus of my topic today. Today, I am here to have a heart-to-heart discussion with you all, the future leaders of our nation, and share with you what I consider vital values necessary to succeed in business and in life.

• I am not here to pontificate or theorize, no.

• I am standing on this stage to share with you, as much as possible, practical, real life experiences about entrepreneurship and the values that have brought me this far, believing that these nuggets will enable you become even more successful than some of us.

• We need to create our own Jack Ma, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and we need to multiply our Dangotes and Elumelus.

• I was once a student like you, full of dreams that I was eager to chase, full of ideas and with very limited resources to pursue them.

• But the difference between some of us and others lies in the transformative power of entrepreneurship.
• The good news for all of you here is that if a one-time regular Tony can come this far at a time when we had more limited resources, opportunities and many more challenges here on our continent, then you should in fact, do much better than us.

• This is what you owe yourself, and this is what you owe all of us who place a lot of confidence and resources in you.

• But this is not only about you and I, it is about contributing to the development of our communities and our nation at large.

• It is about using our skills and talents to create jobs, to create hope and empower people to fulfil their God-given potentials.

• Entrepreneurship can change lives, can change communities, can change nations, but I must tell you that the journey to entrepreneurship is tough, and I must say this often, there is no quick fix about it.

• There are values and attributes that you must possess to succeed as an entrepreneur. I call them the #TOEWay.

#TOEWAY

 Dream/Vision/Goals

• Purpose
• Goals
• Long term
• Be realistic

• The first thing I tell people is that you should dream BIG. No limitations, no boundaries; feel free to dream.

• Two, think of how to translate these dreams into realistic implementable actions.

• You need to make sure your dream is long term in orientation.

• Steve Jobs, for instance, had a very ambitious dream. His vision was to ‘put a computer in the hands of everyday people’ and this is what defined his life’s work.

• His vision was big, bold and intoxicating, but it was also a specific dream which allowed him to concentrate all his energy towards making it work.

• But you need to realize that to dream is one thing, to get it done is more important – execution!

• When you have done the reality check, repurpose your goal. Afterwards, translate this dream or purpose into action because it is that translation that defines success.

• If you dream and you do not translate it into action, you will not be successful. 

1. Translate your dreams to action

• Assemble the right resources
• Milestones
• Timeframe
• Execution/Hard work
• Check from time to time that you are on course
• Have a mirror

• The process of translating your dreams to action entails the following:

• First is, you need to build milestones into your dreams.

• Then you must make sure you assemble the right resources.

• There are different types of resources you need to assemble for you to accomplish your dreams: some could be financial, others human, it varies.

• But it is important that you ask yourselves what you need to accomplish your dreams as an entrepreneur, then you work hard towards putting these in place.

• Next, as an entrepreneur, you need to check your milestones from time to time, am I on course? What did I miss? How did I miss it? What can I do to correct it as an entrepreneur?

• This is very important. I call it checking yourself from time to time in a realistic fashion

• Have a mirror. A mirror is someone that you have confidence in, that you can check in with from time to time.

• When entrepreneurs do well, they mostly have business mentors.

• It would also be nice if your mirror is like a mentor, someone who has accomplished something in that field that you can go to from time to time to check with.

• Finally, you must work hard, to achieve success in life is not rocket science, you just must put in the time.

• On hard work, Michael Jackson for instance was renowned for his excellent work ethic, which explains why he remains one of the greatest musicians of all times.

• Some would think dancing and singing do not require any significant efforts but beneath those enthralling videos and captivating songs are hours and hours of practice and sweat.

• When Micheal Jackson was producing the video for ‘Thriller’, one of the ground-breaking music videos of the 80’s, there was an eight-week period where he had to work like slave, staying up days at a time to ensure that everything was perfect.

• This is the same type of thoroughness and diligence that you must apply to your business. 

 Long term orientation and focus

• Sacrifices
• Discipline
• Tenacity
• Resilience
• For long term orientation and focus, you must realize that the journey of entrepreneurship is a long journey and is a difficult one.

• You must make sacrifices to be able to get to the destination.

• You must be disciplined, you have to show tenacity, you have to be resilient because it is a long journey and that journey has up moments and down moments.

• When I think of resilience, I think of the story of Jack Ma, the richest man in China whom I recently met and engaged extensively with in Rwanda. Jack’s story is one of determination and resilience.

• He was not born into a wealthy family and to make things worse when he applied to go to University, he failed the entrance exam twice. He finally passed on the third try. In fact, he was rejected by Harvard University ten times.

• After he graduated, he tried applying for jobs and was rejected by more than a dozen companies including KFC, before he was finally hired as an English Teacher in China. Today, he is the richest man in China with a networth valued at approximately $36.2 billion.

• But Jack remained undeterred, he continued to be focused.

• Today Jack Ma’s company Alibaba is an e-commerce giant – one of the most valued in China – that employs thousands of people globally.

• Similarly, Jeff Bezos, the Founder of Amazon, who only two days ago briefly overtook Bill Gates as the richest man in the world is a lesson in tenacity and resilience.

• He founded Amazon in 1994 at only age 30.

• Amazon has grown to be recognised as leader in innovative breakthroughs that have transformed the global retail market and the way consumers see “buying and selling.”

1. Personal financial discipline

• Prudence
• Deferred spending
• Savings culture/habits

• It is important that as entrepreneurs, you have the discipline to save, to defer certain spending.

• You should be able to commit to making sacrifices today for a better tomorrow.

• One of the richest men in the world, Warren Buffet, is known for his modest and frugal lifestyle.

• Despite his fortune, Buffet lives in the same house he bought in 1958, which he says he would not trade for anything.

• He buys cars at reduced prices, like those that have a little damage, because he considers cars a depreciating asset.

• In his words ‘Success is really doing what you love and doing it well.” It’s as simple as that.

• Getting to do what you love to do every day – that’s really the ultimate luxury.

• Remember, as you begin your entrepreneurial journey, ensure that you do not use your profits or earning to purchase the latest cars or houses.

• Ensure that you are as frugal as possible with your expenditure while you accumulate your capital.

1. Culture of Excellence

• Quality
• Reliability/Reliance
• Integrity
• Professionalism
• The culture of Excellence is very important for entrepreneurs.
• As entrepreneurs, we must emphasize quality in all pursuits.
• If you are long-term in your orientation, then quality becomes second nature.

• This is because you don’t want to compromise. You want to do it right, knowing that in year 1, year 2, you might not make so much money but in the long run as you build what is called brand equity and people begin to have confidence in you, your product and services and recognize the quality, they will patronize you big time.

• Today’s great companies, Prada, Apple, Micrsoft, Tata, etc. started as small companies, family businesses even, and today, they are billion-dollar businesses.

• You can build that kind of business too, but to do that you must think long term because Prada did not start 10 years or 20 years ago.

• You must also institutionalize quality so when people hear your brand name, it resonates and is understood as synonymous with quality, durability, reliability and trust.

• People pay in the long run for quality/durability/reliability.

• Reliability: People must rely on your brand.

• At UBA one of the things we preach is customer service; it’s all about brand integrity.

• You must inspire customers to cultivate confidence in YOU.

• As aspiring entrepreneurs, you must understand the importance of quality, reliability, integrity and above all professionalism.

• The short run attention to excellence might not give you returns, depending on how you define returns, but in the long run, it will give you significant returns, as long as excellence remains your watchword.

1. Build to Last

• Legacy
• Sustainability
• Institutionalization
• To build to last, you must think long term, prioritise quality, excellence etc. but most importantly, tell yourself: I’m in this business for the long haul.

• If you have this orientation, it will shape almost everything you do.

• You will be compelled to put in place foundations and structures that will help you to institutionalize the business.

• This should be the aspiration of every entrepreneur and especially for those of us who come from Africa.
• Steve Jobs started Apple, and though he is gone, the Company is waxing stronger today.

• This is the mentality we must have as we start out business as entrepreneurs.

• We need to think legacy, we need to think sustainability, and we must explore how to institutionalize these.

 Personal Experience

• The story of UBA, which everyone talks about today, was driven by these principles. Some of them we started with, and others we adapted or improved over time.

• I am sharing with you today, experience that has come over three decades.

• Before today’s United Bank for Africa, we started as Standard Trust Bank (STB).

• To build STB, we acquired a bank that was distressed (at a more difficult time than the time we live in today) and we set out to turn around this Bank.

• We imbibed the principles I have shared with you.

• First was let’s think long term. To do this, we defined what we call, the three-tier strategic intent for Standard Trust Bank (STB) at the time.

• The first-tier strategy was to turn the Bank around and make it viable. We gave ourselves three years to achieve this guided by short milestones that we kept checking to make sure we are on course.

• Then second year strategy intent for us was to make STB one of the top 10 Banks in Nigeria. At the time, we had over 120 Banks in Nigeria.

• The third-year strategy intent was to become one of the top three Banks in Nigeria.

• We were guided by our major philosophy to democratize access to financial services in Nigeria. 

• So, for entrepreneurs, the lesson there is to think big, think long term, set short milestones, as you achieve them, it spurs you, it encourages you to do more

• When we achieved the position of a Top Three bank, we set out again to conquer more. Why? Because entrepreneurship is a long journey, you don’t give up until you accomplish your mission.

• Today, UBA has presence in 19 African countries, UK, France, and is the only sub-Saharan financial institution in NY.

• How did we accomplish these?

• We set time frames, we worked hard, we assembled resources.

• When we needed more capital, we went to the market to raise money. And because we were credible with a track record, we received the desired capital.

• When we needed more human capital, we went to hire more people from the right markets.

• Today, UBA is a development force for our continent, democratizing banking, and creating access to financial services for over 14 million customers across 1000 branches and cash centres.

• It is this long-term aspiration that fuelled all our accomplishments at UBA.

• As I said before, if we accomplished all this, you – our younger ones can even do better.

• It is not rocket science, it is just these principles – philosophies that guide you to success.

• No matter what happens after this session, remember those philosophies that I shared. 

AFRICAPITALISM

• My discussion on entrepreneurship would be grossly incomplete if I do not share an economic philosophy I developed called – ‘Africapitalism’.

• Africapitalism posits that the private sector has a key role to play in the economic and social development of the African continent. This is not just a theoretical philosophy, it is informed by my over 30 years of private sector experience and engagement in Africa.

• Africapitalism espouses that for Africa to develop, long term investments in critical sectors of the economy must occur and it must be made by the private sector and It also charges Africans to embrace the following mind-sets:

• First, is that Africans must lead the way. It’s absurd and difficult to expect people to invest in your continent when you decide to put your money in Swiss Bank accounts, when you don’t have belief in your continent.

• So, with us as Africans, the philosophy of Africapitalism is ‘in Africa, for Africa’; support the continent, lead the way so that our partners can join us in investing in Africa because indeed to a large extent, I believe that investment is what would help us as a continent to develop and create jobs.

• Second, we must Come up with innovative, home grown and bottom-up solutions for 
the seemingly intractable challenges that we continue to face.

• With this I must say that I am impressed with the way young Africans are leveraging technology to come up with innovative solutions to problems in agriculture, healthcare, financial services, manufacturing etc.

• I know this because companies such as CCHub, Budgit and COMSAT that got support from the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) continue to break grounds in using technology to make our society a better place

• The technology landscape is growing massively and has attracted millions of dollars and investors in the last 5 years. Companies such as Andela, Tizeti, PayStack, Kudi.ng, Spark.ng, IrokoTv, Hotels.ng continue to push the frontiers in Nigeria’s technology space. 

• In fact, our youth have made such advances that when Facebook Founder Mark Zuckerberg embarked on his first visit to Africa, his first stop was Nigeria. 

• With bright and creative minds such as these, it is only a matter of time before young Africans build technologies to rival the Ubers and Ebays of this world. My prayer is that I am called to invest in these and make billions too!!! 

• Third is the fact that ‘Nobody but us will develop Africa. Africa’s destiny lies in the hands of all of us, Africans’.

• Through Africapitalism we can build resilient, competitive and self-reliant economies while 
empowering our teeming youth population. We can also achieve development that is sustainable and inclusive

• And in the process, reduce poverty by creating prosperity for the majority by broadening access to opportunities which can drive self-empowerment in a way that does not breed dependency.

• Therefore, in line with my philosophy of Africapitalism, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, through our flagship programme, the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme has committed $100 million towards empowering the next generation of African Entrepreneurs that will transform Africa for good in a sustainable fashion that recognizes self and human dignity.

• Our programme is a $100m initiative committed to identifying, training and funding 10,000 entrepreneurs in Africa every year, over a 10-year period, in the hopes that these ones would go on to create at least 1,000,000 jobs and help our entrepreneurs generate $1 billion in revenue.

• So far, we have empowered 3,000 people who are creating jobs, paying taxes and solving problems within their communities.

 CONCLUSION

• My young brothers and sisters, I want to encourage all of you who decide to embark on the path of entrepreneurship, to imbibe and practice the principles of Africapitalism that incorporates inclusive prosperity, sustainability, social wealth creation, local value addition, etc.

• Not least because you are Africans, but because Africapitalism ensures the most reliable path to long lasting success in business. Africapitalism reduces tension, volatility, fosters peace and a sense of shared prosperity.

• But let me say that I would be insincere if I attempt to glamourize entrepreneurship or simplify it. It is not simple and as I said, it is a long journey and one that is tough. And the unpopular truth is that only those who have grit and resilience can make it through the end

• You must realize that your success is not only for you and your family, it is for your community, your country and all of Africa.

• Africa needs you and all your energy and intellect. Africa needs your creativity and innovativeness.

• I recognise that there are external factors that can frustrate your entrepreneurship journey, therefore everywhere I go, I call on government at all levels and the Policy makers to do as much as possible to make the business environment conducive for Entrepreneurs.

• I urge them to recognise that when entrepreneurs succeed, the citizenry succeeds.

• Indeed, when people don’t have a stake in the economy, there shall not be peace.

• Our leaders should always consider their legacy, and one way they can create a lasting legacy is by empowering our young ones to fulfil their entrepreneurial ambitions.

• So, my young brothers and sisters, as I round up, I want to say, go forth and embrace entrepreneurship.

• I want you to imbibe the #TOEWay because I have used them in my own journey and I believe they will lead you to greater successes.
• To attain long term success, I want you to adopt Africapitalism as a guiding philosophy. I want you to develop a keen sense of awareness that Africa is in dire need of leaders both in the private and public sectors and your ideas can indeed transform the continent.
• Let’s rise in unison to transform Africa and create jobs.
• Thank you.

Tony O. Elumelu, CON

Chairman, Heirs Holdings Group

Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation

Twitter: @TonyOElumelu; Facebook: Tony Elumelu, and Instagram @TonyOElumelu

Twitter: @Heirs_Holdings and Instagram: @HeirsHoldings

Twitter: @TonyElumeluFDN and Instagram: @TonyElumeluFoundation

The post [Speech] Entrepreneurship: An Antidote to Nigerian Youth Unemployment – Tony O. Elumelu, CON. appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Professor Reid Whitlock sits down with Heirs TV to discuss his new role as the CEO of The Tony Elumelu Foundation and what his vision is for the next phase of growth for the Foundation.

The post Meet Professor Reid Whitlock, the New CEO appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.