The sponsorship is one of the numerous benefits afforded the alumni of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Alumni besides the direct benefits from the Foundation including non-refundable seed capital, mentorship, training and networking opportunities.

The main theme of the conference is on facilitating trade collaborations between Japan and Africa. On the sidelines, other events will explore ways to invest in Africa’s young people to scale progress and improve economic performance on the continent and globally.

The selected entrepreneurs are:

1. Jumoke Dada: Founder, Taeillo (Nigeria)
2. Balma Ange Frederik; Founder, LIFI-LED (Cote d’Ivoire)
3. Shamim Nabuuma Kaliisa; CHIL AI (Uganda)
4. Ghana: Mr. Kelvin Ashie: Health Direct Global (Ghana)
5. Patu Ndango: Closed loop Systems Ventures (Cameroon)
6. Regis Umugiraneza, CEO and Co-Founder of the Carl Group Company, Director of the Rwanda Youth in Agriculture Forum &Vice President of the PSF Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs (Rwanda)

TICAD brings together government, business leaders, companies and other stakeholders, to engage high policy dialogue, forge business relationships and enhance trade and investment between Japan and Africa.

The travel sponsorship is one of the ways Tony Elumelu Foundation continues to empower African entrepreneurs and create education, entrepreneurship, employment and engagement opportunities for young people.

The post 6 Tony Elumelu Foundation Alumni Have Received Travel Sponsorship to Attend TICAD Conference in Japan Sponsored by UNDP appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Excellencies: Her Excellency, the First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, represented by Her Excellency, Dr. Mairo Almakura; Her Excellency, the First Lady of the Republic of Guinea, Madame Djene Condé; Her Excellency, the First Lady of the Republic of Mali, Madame Keïta Maiga, the Director General of the World Health Organisation, Dr. Tedros Adhanom, our distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

It is my great honour to welcome everyone seated here, and those joining us online, to the 2019 edition of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum.

On behalf of the Founder–my husband, our family, and the entire staff of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, I thank you for being here

To all our amazing entrepreneurs seated here this morning: I say, big congratulations!

Many of you have traveled here from across Africa. For a number of you, this is your first time of visiting Nigeria. So, let me not only say welcome to the Entrepreneurship Forum, but also welcome to Nigeria!

We are truly happy to have you here – to celebrate you and to empower you!

As an entrepreneur, it is not always easy, I can attest. The reality of starting a business is tough, tough. They did not, and cannot, teach us the realities of being an entrepreneur in school. They did not warn us that having a great idea is simply not enough.

First, you have to raise adequate capital to lift your idea off the ground; manage the capital prudently; then, you need the right people – the right team to actualize your dream, the right mentors for advice and direction, and the right support network. You have to navigate rules and regulatory issues from agencies that you did not even know existed.

Then when your business finally gets running, there are those days where you just stare at the numbers, almost willing or wishing them to make sense. (Brief Pause)

Yet you stand. You will not only prevail, you will thrive and be successful!

Those ideas and innovations that came to you as you dreamt, in the shower, in the office, during chitchat with friends. They are crystallising into businesses that are transforming our continent, every single day.

You are the backbone upon which the future of Africa rests.

As some of you may well know, this is our ninth year as a Foundation and our fifth entrepreneurship Forum.

I hope that as more people take the stage over the next few days, you will enjoy all that we have with great care, put together for you. And that everyone, not only our entrepreneurs, will gain a lot from the insights of the speakers and leaders who have traveled from far and wide to share their knowledge and expertise.

They have made tremendous efforts to be here because of their belief in YOU and in the philosophy of Africapitalism that the private sector, especially SMEs, are key to Africa’s social and economic transformation.

Let me also take this moment to thank our distinguished speakers who have made the decision, many at great personal cost, to be here. We are truly, truly grateful!

A key message that I would like everyone to leave this Forum with, is empowering YOU, our young Africans must be prioritised if we must develop our continent.

I’ll take a quick step back to situate what we do in a global context. We have all heard that, with sixty percent of our population aged under 30, Africa is currently the youngest population in the world. The possibilities it presents for development are huge.

The expectation is that an abundant population of strong, able-bodied youth will lead to economic development across the continent. This is where our work at the Tony Elumelu Foundation comes in.

When young men and women start businesses, they lift their families out of poverty. They bring prosperity, security and hope to their communities and create a culture of innovation and creativity.

They export African excellence to the world.

And speaking of exporting African excellence – just a quick story. My daughters, like many young people, are huge, huge fans of Beyoncé. In fact, because of them, there is hardly any Beyoncé song that I don’t know! Anytime she releases a new album, it’s like Christmas day in our household. So, you can imagine the excitement last week when she released a new album. Screams galore!

But I was even more surprised when I looked at the musical artists featured on the album: Tiwa Savage, WizKid, Burna Boy, Yemi Alade and Shatta Wale among others. Our very own homegrown African talent sharing the stage with the biggest popstar in the world!

It is an amazing testament to the immense potential of African entrepreneurs individually and as a collective. With the right push, the right resources and the right environment, YOU, our entrepreneurs can compete on the world stage.

And this excellence cuts across all sectors – in agriculture, in ICT, in medicine, in fashion, really across all sectors! This reinforces our belief at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, that there are hidden gems in Africa who with the right amount of support, training and seed capital can be global trailblazers in their chosen fields.

Young Africans, there is excellence within YOU. You owe it to yourselves, your families and your communities to put in the hard work, to build the resilience and to keep at it until you succeed.

The world awaits YOU!

The post Welcome Remarks by Dr. A.V Awele at the 2019 TEF Forum appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Over 20,000 African entrepreneurs from 52 countries applied to the programme, representing the creativity and potential on display across the continent.  The initial 1,000 selected for the 2015 class are a remarkable group of entrepreneurs who are a testament to the ability of Africa’s own entrepreneurs to drive Africa’s growth and development.

Speaking on the desired impact of the programme, Founder, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, CON, commented: “The selection of these 1000 entrepreneurs brings us closer to our ultimate goal – to drive Africa’s economic and social transformation from within and to radically intensify job creation in Africa.  Though I have never met or spoken to any of the winners, I am confident that due to the rigorous criteria and selection process, these entrepreneurs are Africa’s hope for the future.  I will continue to invest my experience, time, influence, and resources to see them succeed.  I am embarking on this journey with these entrepreneurs hopeful and inspired.”

The winners represent 52 African countries and territories, as well as a multitude of value adding sectors ranging from agriculture to education to fashion and ICT.  The top five countries in terms of numbers of winners are Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa and Ghana.  All five African regions – North, East, Southern, Central and West Africa are represented, as well as all major language blocs – Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Arabic Africa.  More than anything else, they epitomise the opportunity and promise of Africa.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation appointed Accenture as an independent review consultant to thoroughly evaluate each application based on selection criteria approved by the TEEP Selection Committee.   Following Accenture’s independent review, a meeting of the TEEP Selection Committee, made up of successful entrepreneurs and development experts from across Africa, was held today in Lagos to approve the final list of winners.

The 1,000 selected entrepreneurs will continue through the programme cycle over the next nine months. This cycle includes an intensive online training curriculum, mentoring, and participation in a two-day entrepreneurship boot-camp and the Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum.  The over 19,000 entrepreneurs who were not selected will be invited to join the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Network where they will be able to further hone their entrepreneurial knowledge and skills.

Parminder Vir OBE, Director of Entrepreneurship at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, said: “The high quantity and quality of applicants we have received is testament to the brilliant ideas and incredible talent that exists in abundance across Africa. The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme will give structure and support to these African entrepreneurs to develop themselves and to grow their businesses. Through TEEP, the ripple effects of the long-term investments in a new generation of Africapitalists will be felt throughout the continent.”

For a full list of the winners, click here.

TEEP 1000 Press Release_FRENCH

Portuguese Press Release

Media Contact: Bolanle Omisore
Email bolanle.omisore@heirsholdings.com
Tel +234-1-277 4641-5

The post Tony Elumelu Foundation Selects Inaugural 1,000 African Entrepreneurs to Participate in the $100M Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.