Identifying this problem

While growing up, Jonathan saw his mom engaged in petty trading in a bid to make ends meet, while his brothers were actively engaged in schooling with the aim of improving their chances in order to get good jobs. At the same time, he saw his mom and other traders make wholesome daily profits, as a result he decided to be an entrepreneur so that he will not only make money but provide jobs for the people around him.

Jonathan Azua owns a Luxuriant cleaning and maintenance company the company that aims at giving customers a higher cleaning experience, this clear promise of value helped to incentivize their first users, even today, this has remained their message and an integral part of their organizational culture. The nexus and common theme of the organization is how to make a difference in the lives of customers, users, and stakeholders.

Seed Capital for Cleaning and Maintenance Business

For Jonathan, the training and the seed capital provided by the programme was a turning point in his entrepreneurship journey.

“Two things stood out for me in the TEF program, the training and the seed capital. Before the training I was managing a business in the informal sector, while I was largely successful at that level, I never knew there were things I was doing wrong, for example, the training helped me to understand important concepts such as corporate governance and structure, it kind of covered something small about everything a business is all about, the training armed me with the knowledge I needed to succeed at scale.

Also, he believes seed capital was a huge leverage, which was a tool for him to achieve his dream. When he started out, he made up his mind that this may be the only business fund he may ever have, so he would not fail himself. He went about investing with that mindset, and as of today, he has about 5 companies in his group just from a single seed, and he believes that the future holds much more for his business in abundance in terms of revenue generation and impact.

“The seed capital changed my life forever, all that I will ever become in life is tied to that seed capital.”

The group makes in excess of $10,000 annually in revenue generation, with over 20 direct and indirect employees.

Currently, they are expanding beyond their primary geographic market segment (Yobe state), as they attempt to become a national player by opening outlets in strategic markets.

“We are proud to be an employer of labour seeing that our country is grappling with an unprecedented unemployment rate, while making money is good business, beyond that, we are proud of being able to gainfully employ people and taking them out of the street, as a result. We see our contributions to the country’s GDP as the hallmark of our work, while our ability to provide goods and services that solve customers’ problems daily has been resounding and encouraging.”

ABOUT THE TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION


The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFconnect, and disbursed nearly USD$100 million in direct funding to 18,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.

The post Meet 2017 TEF Alumni, Jonathan Azua Who is creating jobs through cleaning and maintenance business appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

We know bankers have been criticised – at times rightly so – we know that money has been cheap in some jurisdictions, and money has been mismanaged, misapplied, but we think that with governance and management, all of this can be addressed.

I am also an entrepreneur – and a firm believer in doing well and doing good, and doing both simultaneously and not one waiting for the other.

I have established one of the largest philanthropies in Africa – The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Our family seeded the sum of US$100m to the Foundation to help identify, train, mentor, and most importantly, provide non-refundable seed capital of $5000 to each of the beneficiaries.

We aimed to touch 10,000 young African entrepreneurs over ten years, but in only seven years, we have funded over 15,000 African entrepreneurs from across all 54 African countries.

But when I look at my businesses – healthcare – hospitality – Energy – Resources – and yes finance – a mission of social good is fundamental to all of them

In the bank, we:

–       Catalyse financial inclusion

–        We use technology to give access to all

–        We fund women

–        We fund entrepreneurs

Critically, we connect within Africa – funding trade flows, breaking down the artificial barriers we inherited – Africa did not, up until recently, trade with itself – we are changing that.

In the Insurance business – we are helping to take insurance to all;

–        The rich and the poor;

–        The bottom of the pyramid

We believe in inclusiveness – gender inclusiveness and inclusiveness across society – rich, poor, those in urban areas, and those in rural areas.

 We do this through our insurance business. We also intermediate with the rest of the world because Africa needs a financial champion. 

United Bank for Africa (UBA) is Africa’s global bank and is proudly playing this role.

I am a private sector guy.

It is the private sector that is going to change Africa – but a private sector that demonstrates good governance and responsibility.

Finance in Africa understands that role – but when I speak of Africapitalism, a philosophy that calls on the private sector to be involved in catalysing development on the continent by investing in critical sectors and helping to mobilise capital, it has global resonance.

In the US and the UK – I see the same issues – young entrepreneurs – often from disadvantaged and disenfranchised backgrounds are excluded – we need to support these people – we need to channel the positive energy, channel the opportunities – and be inclusive and beneficial for all.

COVID taught one clear message – that we are all very closely linked. What started in a village, in a small community in China, soon spread all over the world.

In fact, had the impact that wars could not have in the world.

There is a lesson for all of us – and that lesson is that poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere.

I like what Congressman French Hill said about ideas, and I am so impressed that you chair the Congress committee on Entrepreneurship, and I am even further impressed that you called for ideas. We will come with ideas to you because poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere.

Youth unemployment, youth un-engagement or disengagement in one part of the world, spreads to other parts of the world.

Similarly – excluded youths will pose and continue to pose a security challenge to the world.

If we seek global peace, if we seek global equity, if we seek global prosperity, we must think collectively about how all of us from any part of the world can play a role in making things happen.

We should all be more responsible and use our combined wealth/capital to drive shared prosperity and an inclusive world.

Thank you Milken Institute for shining the light.

The post Our Founder’s Address At The 25th Milken Institute Global Conference appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

FAEDA is built on an integrated development model that organically creates dynamic links and synergies between environment, agriculture, industry, and services. It is addressing the lack of adequate access to basic food products through a food distribution activity that offers customers the opportunity to stock up on food products from the comfort of their homes.

A year after starting his business, Ababacar saw an advert for the 2018 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme applications and decided to give it a shot. He was one of over 1,000 African entrepreneurs who emerged successful in that year.

While speaking on the impact of the Foundation’s 6-week intensive business management training and seed capital of $5,000, Ababacar attributes his a significant amount of his business growth and his approach to entrepreneurship and leadership to the learnings gotten from the training.

“Our company has gone from the start-up stage to the growth stage. In the beginning, we started with broiler production, and we went from 1000 chickens every 45 days to 2500 chickens every 45 days. We have now set up a chick unit with a capacity of 5000 chicks every 30 days. we have also launched the poultry feed production unit. We went from $19,240 to $46,845 a year. The number of jobs created has increased from 3 to 7 permanent jobs” he said.

Owing to Ababacar’s goal at the start of his entrepreneurial journey, he now coaches other young people and women with exciting business ideas, who need guidance on developing their business plan, an important skill that he learned during the TEF Business Management training.  In addition, FAEDA also outsources raw materials to various companies in Senegal, thereby promoting the consumption of locally made food items.

In just about 4 years, Ababacar has been able to drastically improve the structure of his business, create a business model that meets the needs of his clients and has strengthened his skills in business management.

The post Ababacar, TEF Alumni, is promoting Agro-ecology in Africa through FAEDA appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

منذ عام 2015 ، مكن برنامج ريادة الأعمال التابع للاتحاد الأفريقي – وهو المحفز الوحيد لريادة الأعمال الممول من أفريقيا-15847 من رواد الأعمال الأفارقة برأس مال أولي غير قابل للإرجاع قدره 5000 دولار لكل منهم ؛ اثني عشر أسبوعا من التدريب على إدارة الأعمال ؛ الوصول إلى الموجهين ذوي الخبرة ؛ والعضوية في أكبر نظام بيئي لريادة الأعمال في أفريقيا.

في عام 2021 ، صرفت مؤسسة توني إلوميلو 24.75 مليون دولار أمريكي إلى 5000 رائد أعمال أفريقي في جميع أنحاء إفريقيا لبرنامج ريادة الأعمال لعام 2021. لا يزال برنامج ريادة الأعمال التابع للمؤسسة أحد أكبر استجابات القطاع الخاص لدفع الانتعاش الاقتصادي للشباب والنساء والشركات الصغيرة والمتوسطة الأفريقية نظرا لآثار جائحة كوفيد-19 في جميع أنحاء أفريقيا.  في جميع أنحاء أفريقيا ، بدأ المستفيدون من برنامج ريادة الأعمال التابع لمؤسسة توني إلوميلو وينمون أعمالا رائدة خلقت بشكل جماعي أكثر من 400,000 وظيفة مباشرة وغير مباشرة.

وفقا لرائدة الأعمال توني إلوميلو لعام 2015 ، حواء ليمان ، صاحبة الأعمال ومؤسس أفريك عباية: “أنا فخور دائما بالقول إنني من المجموعة الافتتاحية لبرنامج ريادة الأعمال لمؤسسة توني إلوميلو. يقع عملي في كادونا ، في شمال نيجيريا. لقد استفدت من هذا البرنامج في عام 2015 ، وفتح الكثير من الأبواب والفرص. لا يتعلق الأمر فقط برأس المال الأساسي ، ولكن ما يسحرني حقا في البرنامج هو المعرفة. أنا أسميها برنامج ماجستير إدارة الأعمال المصغرة,

لأنه من مرحلة التفكير يعلمك كيفية التعبير عن عملك حقا ، وأعطاني خطة عملي الأولى. الشبكة والرؤية والفرص لا حصر لها. لا يمكن أن تكتمل تجربتي في ريادة الأعمال بدون مؤسسة توني إلوميلو. سأبدأ التصدير إلى بلدان أخرى قريبا من باب المجاملة المؤسسة. نحن الآن نوظف عشرة موظفين دائمين وثمانية موظفين إضافيين على أساس العمولة.”

وتعليقا على إطلاق برنامج مؤسسة توني إلوميلو لريادة الأعمال لعام 2022 ، قال الرئيس التنفيذي لمؤسسة توني إلوميلو ، إيفيينوا أوغوشوكو: “نحن في مهب باستمرار نوعية الشركات التي تأتي من أفريقيا كل عام. هذا يحفزنا على توسيع نطاق جهودنا لتمكين المزيد من رواد الأعمال في القارة. الابتكار والمعرفة والمرونة من رجال الأعمال الأفارقة أمر أساسي لرسم التحول الاجتماعي والاقتصادي في أفريقيا وتحقيق أهداف التنمية في القارة. نحن فخورون أيضا بزيادة مشاركة الإناث في برنامجنا ، خاصة مع مجموعة 2021 حيث شهدنا اختيار 68 ٪ من رائدات الأعمال.”

وصرح الأمين المؤسس لمؤسسة توني إلوميلو ، الدكتور أ ف. إلوميلو: “من خلال برنامج ريادة الأعمال لمؤسسة توني إلوميلو ، نسعى إلى إضفاء الطابع الديمقراطي على الحظ. يلعب العمل الشاق دورا مهما لا يمكن إنكاره في النجاح ، ولكن يجب على المرء ألا يستبعد دور الحظ – شخص ما على استعداد لاغتنام فرصة لك أو لفكرة العمل من خلال تمكينك من خلال التدريب أو الإرشاد أو التمويل. أملنا هو أنه من خلال برنامج ريادة الأعمال لمؤسسة توني إلوميلو ، سنساعد قائد الأعمال التالي أو قائد الصناعة على أن يكون من المفترض أن يكون. هذه هي طريقتنا الخاصة لرد الجميل وأيضا لتمكين الجيل القادم وراءنا حتى يتمكنوا من الذهاب إلى أبعد مما لدينا. بصفتك أحد الوالدين ، فإن رغبة المرء هي أن يقوم أطفالك بعمل أفضل منك ، وبالتالي ستوفر الموارد والمواد التي يحتاجونها للتأكد من أنهم يذهبون بعيدا في الحياة. وبالمثل ، نقوم في المؤسسة بتزويد الجيل القادم بالأدوات التي يحتاجونها لتحقيق النجاح.”

وباعتبارها البطل الأول لريادة الأعمال في أفريقيا ، تعمل مؤسسة توني إلوميلو على تمكين النساء والرجال في جميع أنحاء القارة الأفريقية من خلال ريادة الأعمال لتحفيز النمو الاقتصادي ، ودفع عجلة القضاء على الفقر وضمان خلق فرص العمل. تكمن مهمة المؤسسة في فلسفة الرأسمالية الأفريقية ، التي تضع القطاع الخاص باعتباره العامل الرئيسي في خلق الثروة الاقتصادية والاجتماعية في أفريقيا. من خلال تيفكونكت ، المنصة الرقمية الخاصة بالمؤسسة ، قدمت الدعم لبناء القدرات ، والروابط الاستشارية والسوقية ، لأكثر من 1.5 مليون أفريقي.

برنامج مؤسسة توني إلوميلو لريادة الأعمال مفتوح لأصحاب المشاريع في جميع أنحاء أفريقيا: الشركات الناشئة الجديدة والشركات الشابة القائمة ، التي تعمل في أي قطاع. يجب على المتقدمين المحتملين التقديم الآن على مركز الشبكات الرقمية لرواد الأعمال الأفارقة, www.TEFConnect.net. للحصول على قائمة بأسماء رواد الأعمال المختارين لعام 2021 توني إلوميلو ومزيد من المعلومات حول برنامجنا ، يرجى زيارة الموقع الإلكتروني لمؤسسة توني إلوميلو هنا.

The post دعوة جميع رواد الأعمال الأفارقة: تقدم الآن للحصول على منحة 5000 دولار والإرشاد والتدريب والمزيد في برنامج ريادة الأعمال لمؤسسة توني إلوميلو لعام 2022! appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Desde 2015, o Programa de Empreendedorismo TEF – o único catalisador de empreendedorismo de seu tipo financiado pela África – capacitou 15.847 empreendedores Africanos com capital inicial não reembolsável de $ 5.000 cada; doze semanas de treinamento em gestão de negócios; acesso a mentores experientes; e adesão ao maior ecossistema empresarial da África.

Em 2021, a Fundação Tony Elumelu desembolsou US $ 24,75 milhões para 5.000 empreendedores Africanos em toda a África para seu Programa de Empreendedorismo 2021. O Programa de Empreendedorismo da Fundação continua a ser uma das maiores respostas do setor privado para impulsionar a recuperação econômica de jovens Africanos, mulheres e PMEs, dados os efeitos da pandemia covid19 em toda a África. Em toda a África, os beneficiários do Programa de Empreendedorismo da Fundação Tony Elumelu estão iniciando e desenvolvendo empresas pioneiras que criaram coletivamente mais de 400.000 empregos diretos e indiretos.

De acordo com a Empreendedora Tony Elumelu 2015, Hauwa Liman, dona e fundadora de uma empresa denominada Afrik Abaya: “Tenho sempre orgulho de dizer que faço parte da coorte inaugural do Programa de Empreendedorismo da Fundação Tony Elumelu. Minha empresa está localizada em Kaduna, no norte da Nigéria. Eu me beneficiei desse Programa em 2015, e ele me abriu muitas portas e oportunidades. Não se trata apenas do capital semente, mas o que realmente me fascina no Programa é o conhecimento. Chamo isso de mini-programa de MBA, porque desde a fase de idealização ensina como realmente articular o seu negócio, e me deu meu primeiro plano de negócios. A rede, a visibilidade e as oportunidades são infinitas. Minha experiência de empreendedorismo não pode ser completa sem a Fundação Tony Elumelu. Vou começar a exportar para outros países em breve, cortesia da Fundação. Agora empregamos dez funcionários permanentes e oito funcionários adicionais com base em comissão. ”

Comentando sobre o lançamento do Programa de Empreendedorismo da Fundação Tony Elumelu 2022, o CEO da Fundação Tony Elumelu, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, compartilhou: “Ficamos constantemente impressionados com a qualidade dos negócios que vêm da África todos os anos. Isso nos motiva a escalar nossos esforços para capacitar ainda mais empreendedores no continente. A inovação, o conhecimento e a resiliência dos empreendedores Africanos são fundamentais para mapear a transformação socioeconômica da África e cumprir os objetivos de desenvolvimento do continente. Também estamos orgulhosos do aumento da participação feminina em nosso Programa, especialmente com a coorte de 2021, onde testemunhamos uma seleção recorde de 68% de mulheres empresárias ”.

O curador fundador da Fundação Tony Elumelu, Dr. A. V. Elumelu declarou: “Por meio do Programa de Empreendedorismo da Fundação Tony Elumelu, buscamos democratizar a sorte. O trabalho árduo desempenha um papel importante e inegável no sucesso, mas não se deve desconsiderar o papel da sorte – alguém que está disposto a arriscar com você ou com uma ideia de negócio ao capacitá-lo por meio de treinamento, orientação ou financiamento. Nossa esperança é que, por meio do Programa de Empreendedorismo da Fundação Tony Elumelu, possamos ajudar o próximo líder empresarial ou capitão da indústria a ser quem ele deve ser. Esta é a nossa maneira de retribuir e também de capacitar a geração que está atrás de nós para que possam ir ainda mais longe do que nós. Como pai, o desejo é que seus filhos se saiam melhor do que você e, assim, você fornecerá os recursos e materiais de que eles precisam para garantir que durem muito. Da mesma forma, na Fundação estamos equipando a próxima geração com as ferramentas de que precisam para ter sucesso ”.

Como principal defensora do empreendedorismo na África, a Fundação Tony Elumelu  está capacitando mulheres e homens em todo o continente Africano por meio do empreendedorismo para catalisar o crescimento econômico, promover a erradicação da pobreza e garantir a criação de empregos. A missão da Fundação está enraizada na filosofia do Africanpitalismo, que posiciona o setor privado como o principal facilitador da criação de riqueza econômica e social na África. Por meio do TEFConnect, a plataforma digital proprietária da Fundação, ela forneceu suporte de capacitação, consultoria e vínculos de mercado para mais de 1,5 milhão de Africanos.

O Programa de Empreendedorismo da Fundação Tony Elumelu está aberto a empreendedores em toda a África: novas start-ups e empresas jovens existentes, operando em qualquer setor. Os candidatos em potencial devem se inscrever agora no hub de rede digital para empresários Africanos, www.tefconnect.net. Para obter uma lista dos empreendedores Tony Elumelu de 2021 selecionados e mais informações sobre nosso programa, visite o site da Fundação Tony Elumelu aqui.

The post Inscreva-se AGORA para um subsídio de US $ 5.000 no Programa de Empreendedorismo da Fundação Tony Elumelu 2022! appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Depuis 2015, le programme d’entrepreneuriat TEF – le seul catalyseur d’entrepreneuriat africain financé en son genre – a doté 15 847 entrepreneurs africains avec un capital d’amorçage non remboursable de 5 000 $ chacun ; douze semaines de formation en gestion d’affaires ; accès à des mentors expérimentés; et l’adhésion au plus grand écosystème entrepreneurial d’Afrique.

En 2021, la Fondation Tony Elumelu a versé 24,75 millions de dollars US à 5 000 entrepreneurs africains à travers l’Afrique pour son programme d’entrepreneuriat 2021. Le programme d’entrepreneuriat de la Fondation reste l’une des plus grandes réponses du secteur privé pour stimuler la reprise économique des jeunes, des femmes et des PME africains compte tenu des effets de la pandémie de covid19 à travers l’Afrique. À travers l’Afrique, les bénéficiaires du programme d’entrepreneuriat de la Fondation Tony Elumelu lancent et développent des entreprises pionnières qui ont collectivement créé plus de 400 000 emplois directs et indirects.

According to 2015 entrepreneur Tony Elumelu, Hauwa Liman, female business owner and founder of Afrik Abaya: “I am always proud to say that I am part of the inaugural cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation entrepreneurship program. My company is located in Kaduna, in the north of Nigeria. I benefited from this program in 2015, and it opened up a lot of doors and opportunities for me. It’s not just the seed capital, but what really fascinates me about the program is the knowledge. I call it a mini-MBA program because from the ideation stage it teaches you how to really articulate your business and it gave me my first business plan. The network, visibility and opportunities are endless. My entrepreneurial experience cannot be complete without the Tony Elumelu Foundation. I will soon start exporting to other countries thanks to the Foundation. We now employ ten permanent employees and eight additional employees on the commission.”

Commenting on the launch of the 2022 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program, Tony Elumelu Foundation CEO Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu said: “We are constantly blown away by the quality of companies that come from Africa each year. This motivates us to step up our efforts to empower even more entrepreneurs on the continent. The innovation, knowledge and resilience of African entrepreneurs are essential to map Africa’s socio-economic transformation and achieve the continent’s development goals. We are also proud of the increased participation of women in our program, especially with the 2021 cohort where we witnessed a record 68% selection of women entrepreneurs.”

they can go even further than us. As a parent, the desire that your children can do better than you and that you provide the resources and materials they need to make sure they are successful in life. Likewise, at the Foundation, we are equipping the next generation with the tools they need to be successful.”

As the first champion of entrepreneurship in Africa, the Tony Elumelu Foundation empowers women and men across the African continent through entrepreneurship to catalyze economic growth, drive poverty eradication and ensure job creation. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in the philosophy of Africapitalism , which positions the private sector as the essential provider of economic and social wealth creation in Africa. Through TeFconnect , the Foundation’s exclusive digital platform, it has been provided capacity building support, advisory advice and market connections to more than 1.5 million Africans.

The Tony Elumeulu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program is open to entrepreneurs across Africa: new start-ups and existing start-ups, operating in any sector. Potential applicants should apply now on the digital hub for African entrepreneurs. www.tefconnect.net. For a list of Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs selected in 2021 and more information about our program, please visit the Tony Elumulu Foundation website here.

The post Postulez MAINTENANT pour une subvention de 5000 $ le programme d’entrepreneuriat de la Fondation Tony Elumelu 2022! appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Lagos, Nigeria: The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries, has opened applications for the 2022 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme on www.TEFConnect.com African entrepreneurs with business ideas or existing businesses under 5 years, are encouraged to apply now for $5000 seed capital, mentorship, business management training and more on the 2022 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme.

Since 2015, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme – the only African-funded entrepreneurship catalyst of its kind – has empowered 15,847 African entrepreneurs with non-returnable seed capital of $5,000 each; twelve weeks of business management training; access to experienced mentors; and membership to Africa’s largest entrepreneurial ecosystem.

In 2021, the Tony Elumelu Foundation disbursed USD$24.75 million to 5000 African entrepreneurs across Africa for its 2021 Entrepreneurship Programme. The Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme remains one of the largest private sector responses to driving the economic recovery of African youth, women and SMEs given the effects of the covid19 pandemic across Africa.  Across Africa, the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme beneficiaries are starting and growing trailblazing businesses that have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.

According to 2015 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur, Hauwa Liman, female business owner and Founder of Afrik Abaya: “I am always proud to say that I am from the inaugural cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme. My business is located in Kaduna, in northern Nigeria. I benefitted from this Programme in 2015, and it opened up lots of doors and opportunities. It is not just about the seed capital, but what really fascinates me about the Programme is the knowledge. I call it a mini-MBA programme, because from the ideation stage it teaches you how to really articulate your business, and it gave me my first business plan. The network, visibility and opportunities are endless. My entrepreneurship experience cannot be complete without the Tony Elumelu Foundation. I will start exporting to other countries soon courtesy of the Foundation. We now employ ten permanent staff and an additional eight staff on a commission basis.”

Commenting on the launch of the 2022 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu shared, “We are constantly blown away by the quality of businesses that come from Africa every year. This motivates us to scale our efforts to empower even more entrepreneurs on continent. The innovation, knowledge and resilience of African entrepreneurs is central to charting Africa’s socio-economic transformation and meet the continent’s development objectives. We are also proud of the increase in female participation on our Programme, especially with the 2021 cohort where we witnessed a record 68% selection of women entrepreneurs.”

Founding Trustee of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Dr. A V. Elumelu stated: “Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, we seek to democratise luck. Hard work plays an important and undeniable part in success, but one must not discount the role of luck – someone being willing to take a chance on you or business idea by empowering you through training, mentorship or funding. Our hope is that, through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, we would help the next business leader or captain of industry be whom they are meant to be. This is our own way to give back and also to empower the generation coming behind us so that they can go even further than we have. As a parent, one’s desire is for your children to do better than you and so you will provide the resources and materials that they need to ensure that they go far in life. Similarly, at the Foundation we are equipping the next generation with the tools they need to succeed.”

As the foremost champion of entrepreneurship in Africa, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is empowering women and men across the African continent through entrepreneurship to catalyse economic growth, drive poverty eradication and ensure job creation. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in the philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions the private sector as the key enabler of economic and social wealth creation in Africa. Through TEFConnect, the Foundation’s proprietary digital platform, it has provided capacity-building support, advisory and market linkages, to over 1.5 million Africans.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is open to entrepreneurs across Africa: new start-ups and existing young businesses, operating in any sector. Prospective applicants should apply now on the digital networking hub for African entrepreneurs, www.tefconnect.com For a list of the selected 2021 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs and more information on our programme, please visit the website of the Tony Elumelu Foundation here.

The post Apply NOW for $5000 in the 2022 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme! appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

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.

The post 50 Nigerian TEF Entrepreneurs To Benefit From TEF-NEPC N400M Partnership appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

The event emphasised the “Youth Engagement for Global Action” agenda and the role of African entrepreneurs in pushing for sustainable development. It also examined the critical role of the youth in igniting their potential, population, and influence to create mechanisms for sustainable development across the continent. 

Moderated by TEF CEO, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, the event featured a line-up of pan-African entrepreneurs and speakers from the development sector.

Addressing the audience, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu drew attention to the plight of startup African entrepreneurs during the pandemic while highlighting the importance of SMEs, especially during this period. “The SMEs are the major contributors to African economies. We must not underestimate the level of disruption and uncertainty that young people all over the world have faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa.”

Ifeyinwa emphasized the need to empower the youth to tackle the menace of poverty on the continent.

Wambui Gichuri, Ag. VP Agriculture, Human, and Social Development, African Development Bank stated: “Entrepreneurship is an essential part of Africa’s employment challenge and it is where we have to put our focus as a multilateral development bank”.  

She added: “We need to do whatever it takes to empower our youth because they are the future of the continent”.

Martha T.M. Phiri, PhD, Director, Human, Youth and Social Development, African Development Bank, stated that the $5million partnership between the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Tony Elumelu Foundation in 2019 to empower additional young African entrepreneurs, was a step in the right direction to create jobs on the continent. “That was a very exciting partnership and we feel this should be the way forward if we are going to create jobs on the continent,” she said.  

Shoroke H. Zedan, Chairman, World Youth Skills, Egypt said: “It is important that governments start looking at entrepreneurship as a fundamental core topic that needs to be integrated into the educational system”. 

Speaking on incorporating the youth into policymaking decisions, the Global President, AISEC, Alexandra Robinson stated: “I advocate for any policy that involves young people as co-owners of the policymaking process. I really believe that when young people are given co-ownership of the table, not just invited to someone else’s, they are able to have those meaningful conversations”.

Bilikiss Adebiyi-Abiola, Founder, Wecyclers Nigeria and past fellow of the Tony Elumelu Foundation recalled the moment when she got accepted into the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme: “In 2012, when I was invited to the Tony Elumelu Foundation to pitch my idea, I was very fortunate to pitch directly to Mr. Elumelu and I was surprised a couple of days after, we got the grant. That grant was very important for Wecyclers”. 

Speaking as an entrepreneur doing business on the continent, Leroy Mwasaru, Founder, Greenpact Kenya and an alumnus of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s flagship Entrepreneurship Programme highlighted the need for transparency to attract more investors: “It is as a result of sharing what we have been doing that we hope there are less failures and more successes”.  Earlier in the year, due to the pandemic, the Tony Elumelu Foundation announced the postponement of its flagship TEF Entrepreneurship Programme and TEF Forum, the largest gathering of African entrepreneurs on the continent. Celebrating its 10^th year anniversary later in 2020, the Foundation counts over 9,000 young African countries across all 54 African countries as beneficiaries and alumni of its Entrepreneurship Programme. It continues to support African entrepreneurs with expert-led masterclasses, business management training and market linkages on its digital networking platform, TEFConnect.  

The post TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION MARKS INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY EMPHASISING THE “YOUTH ENGAGEMENT FOR GLOBAL ACTION” AGENDA appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

His statement is backed by his experience as an economist, a philanthropist, and more importantly, an investor through his investment vehicle, Heirs Holdings, in Africa’s key sectors – power, financial services, oil & gas, hospitality, real estate, and healthcare. While he has been an avid investor, his hard work, and bet on the continent’s potential to generate a worthy return on investments, do not come without its own challenges. For decades, the private sector has worked with the hope that business necessities, including electricity, infrastructure and security would be fixed by African governments; sadly, the hope is yet to become a reality. Yet the private sector holds firm in its belief. In 2015, Tony Elumelu committed $100 million through his Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme to empower 10,000 young African entrepreneurs to validate his conviction in the potential of the private sector to catalyse transformation. In 2019, Tony Elumelu’s Transcorp Power invested an undisclosed amount into acquiring Afam Power station in the hope that, combined with its existing assets, it would raise the standard of living in Nigeria, by contributing 25% of the total power generation capacity in the country. He replicated this same conviction across several of his businesses including Transcorp Hotels Plc with an upgrade worth billions of naira, and a recent commitment in a yet to be disclosed energy deal. Many more private investors like Tony Elumelu have exhibited the same faith in the future of the continent.

The Importance of a Private-Public Sector Partnership

The private sector continues to play its part, backing words with action. However, it recognises that a mutually beneficial partnership with the
public sector is needed at this time. As stated by Tony Elumelu at the recently concluded virtual roundtable involving African business leaders, there was a consensus that the pandemic is indeed the reset that Africa needs to catalyse the much-needed transformation on the continent. This stance was corroborated by Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former finance minister, Tidjane Thiam, African Union Special Envoy on Covid-19, and moderator Vera Songwe, Under-Secretary-General for the United Nations, as they jointly discussed the topic “Resilient World: An African Call for a New World Order,” at the New York Forum Institute Virtual Roundtable. Okonjo-Iweala emphasised the need to diversify the economy through strengthening the manufacturing sector, Thiam harped on the need to create more jobs on the continent, and Songwe stated that the African Continental Free Trade Zone may just be the policy needed to kickstart the transformation – this is the best time to achieve it. For Elumelu, prioritising the youth, ensuring access to electricity and stabilising the macroeconomic environment are additional focus areas needed at this time.

A Task to Reset Africa Calls for a Marshall Plan

In the near future, African currencies will depreciate significantly, and servicing our external debts will become even more of a challenge. Today, many African countries already spend more annually on debt servicing than on education, healthcare and social welfare combined. Therefore, mobilising the level of finance that will give Africa room to begin this hard task of resetting, will require a Marshall plan, akin to America’s Marshall Plan for Europe after World War II. This Marshall Plan for Africa will be in collaboration with the World Bank, IMF, G20 countries
and all other relevant agencies but must be led by African multilateral financial institutions as in the case of AFREXIM under the leadership of Prof. Okey Oramah, whose efficient and immediate deployment of US$3 billion to finance and support trade and SME business through African banks, is commendable and deserves emulation.

The Covid-19 pandemic presents a bittersweet moment of clarity and reflection which we must seize to reset our continent. It provides the opportunity to finally place Africa on the right path of sustainability built on the bedrock of competitiveness.

Sustained Investment in Infrastructure

We can engender African competitiveness by sustained investment in basic infrastructure, electricity, internet access and digital connectivity, and most importantly by enabling and encouraging entrepreneurship. This combination will provide economic hope and opportunity that will productively engage our young Africans who account for over 60% of our 1.3b population. This is the only way we can reset the economy, create employment, eliminate poverty, generate revenue and attract capital to the continent.

Be Ready for Disruption

Africa must embrace the new normal. The disruptions we have seen across sectors (healthcare, logistics, supply chain, digital economy, IT) are here to stay. This presents a unique opportunity for a united Africa, a strong regional bloc acting in a coordinated fashion in response to this new era. As globalisation, trade and foreign policy adjusts in response to these times, Africa will only enjoy more traction, increased leverage and
more influence by forging a united front. This is the time for the continent to fully leverage its competitive advantage in agriculture, through focused investments in mechanisation, storage facilities, logistics, pest control, quality assurance, and processing, while strengthening our expertise in textile, manufacturing, supply chain etc.

In truth, disruption is here. It may not be ideal, but disruption, in the many facets it presents itself, has heralded new eras, and economic powers. If Africa treats this pandemic as a warning and begins to put in place the systems to ensure economic stability, this could be the beginning of the next global economic power, all business leaders agreed.

The post Amidst the Panic, Does the Pandemic Present an Opportunity to Reset Africa? Tony Elumelu, Other African Business Leaders Think So. appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.