Petcha – Centre for Complementary Medicine was registered as a business with PACRA, in 2014 as a business name, and with Health Professionals Council of Zambia as a Health Training Institution.

It is registered with National Science and Technology Council and National Health Research Authority as a Research and development Institution and ccredited to City University College of Science and Technology (CUST), as well as Ministry of Health at Kasama, Mansa, Mongu and Choma General Hospitals as Student Practicum sites.

The school offers a 5-year degree in Naturopathy, a 3-year Diploma in Clinical Medicine and a 1-year Certificate in Community Health, and conducts research in indigenous knowledge, Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines, procedures and equipment.

Objectives of Petcha include; completion of registration process with Regulatory authority, recruitment of faculty and students, Purchase of furniture and equipment, rent of premises. The school has a Principal, (a) Coordinator(s),

(a) Dean(s), an Accounts Clerk, a Senior Lecturer, Lecturers, a driver and support.

How long have you been running your business:

Over 36 months.

What led him to be an entrepreneur

Unlike Nigeria that had had universities in the early 1960s and 1970s, Zambia had only one university and tuition was extremely expensive. Due to the challenges in the educational sector in Zambia at that time, Chama had to think critically about what he really wanted to do with his life but still remained actively engaged in farming activities.

Within 10 years after he left secondary school, Zambia started to experience reforms in its educational sector which saw more universities been established. He became encouraged to pursue a university education where he majored in Biology and Chemistry following that reform.

Upon graduation, he began a self – supporting Ministry/volunteering service at a community school but was still engaged in farming which by now not only use as not only a means of survival but also to sustain the community school which received little or no support from the government.

He had left the community school to teach at a Christian private school before doing cross border trade (between Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and South Africa) of human hair pieces as he had noticed that women could not get enough of this.

His passion to identify a problem and solve it had compelled him to take a loan from ENA Micro-credit Company to scale the human hair business to expand his reach across Africa.

He was invited to take up a job as the Operations and Marketing Manager at the same company that he had taken the loan for his business on account of his prudent spending and repayment of the loan which caught the attention of the Company.

His passion for teaching (first love) drove him to resign from the micro-credit company after about a year to pick up an appointment as Lecturer and Registrar at ZINARE (NGO). A major restructuring in Zambia in 2011 had seen the end of many NGOs as the Zambian government became stern on the registration process/formalization of NGOs who they thought were being funded to dis-stabilize the economy.

Undeterred that he had now garnered enough experience to leverage upon, Chama resigned and decided to start a business believing that you don’t need to have millions to jumpstart your business and this also coincided with

the period where the payment of all his benefits from the school where he had taught was paid. This was a major boost for him as he had combined this with his savings to start Petcha Centre for Complementary Medicine Studies as the Proprietor and Director.

Jobs

Before the intervention: He had only six staff. After the intervention: He now has a total of fifteen staff.

Revenue

Before the intervention: He was making about K50000 per annum. After the intervention: He now makes about K500000 per annum.

Milestone achieved after the intervention:

Opening of three campuses every year for the next three years, (3 new campuses have been initiated from the seed capital received from the Tony Elumelu Foundation earlier this year, 2019), Marketing Plan now involves Radio adverts and talk shows, Church bulletins and announcements, Posters and fliers, Public announcements using PA system, Insertions in print media, School promotions and career talks and participation in fairs and fora’s both locally and regionally to showcase the brand.

Since November 2018, when the seed capital was disbursed, they did some staff training in Lusaka before deployment to three new towns which included, Choma in the Southern Province of Zambia, Mansa in Luapula Province, and Mongu in Western Province of Zambia.

The great thing is that some of these students had finished their training and have now joined him as staff. This was to fulfil our vision of a School in every Province. The rationale was not to invest all resources in one place which would result in failure should the one campus fail, but to spread so that the underperforming campus can be sustained by the others until full performance is achieved.

Radio adverts as well as posters, fliers, church bulletins as well as word of mouth advertising was also engaged to enroll the certificate course for January 2019 in preparation for the diploma course in June 2019.

District Offices of the Ministry of Health were engaged as well as Provincial/General Hospitals for signing of Memoranda for student practicum sites in all four new Provincial Headquarters. Todate, a class of Health Assistants (Certificate course) is running in Mansa (7 students) and Choma (1 student) and enrolments are ongoing for the diploma course. Enrolments are still progressing in Mongu.

The post Meet Peter Chama who operates a Health Training Institution in Zambia appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

TWO DIFFERENT SCENARIOS. ONE PRODUCT. Amadu Deen Bah was raised by a single mother in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He grew up helping her work as a small trader on weekends and holidays. At the age of 13, he sold bags by the side of the road.

Cut to now. He is the founder and CEO of Caballay Investment, an eco-friendly paper bag manufacturing company he set up in 2020 in the West African country, now trying to raise $75,000 to buy machines to automate the manufacturing process. His aim? To produce 1,000 bags a day and work towards ending the use of plastic bags.

Also an Anzisha Prize fellow in 2021, he has surely come a long way.

“Sometimes, your start is not that good – it’s difficult and hard. But the one thing I have learned on my journey is that it doesn’t matter if you start good or bad; just know that on the journey you will face difficulties. So, the time that you are facing difficulties is the time you need to show your character. You just need to be strong, to be focused, to keep going because the going will get you there. And don’t forget to read!” says Bah, summarizing his years as a novice starting up his entrepreneurial journey. He set out on this ride soon after high school, when he wanted to embark on a business instead of continuing with his education.

He met Jeremy Okoye, a businessman from Senegal, and decided to leave Sierra Leone, for the first time. While in Senegal, hungry and unable to speak either French or Wolof, he eventually found a temporary job in construction.

One day while wandering the streets, he saw a sign advertising English lessons – and thought that was something he could do. As luck would have it, his soon-to-be mentor Okoye was also there. He
began working for him.

When he decided to leave Senegal, Okoye gave him a laptop and books to motivate him. Plus, he had $1,000 in savings.

Back again in Sierra Leone, he was involved in the community clean-up on the last Saturday of every month, where citizens are encouraged to venture out and collect garbage.

“There are no local people to collect trash in my community. You have to wait for the bigger companies to collect it. So I saw it as a business opportunity.”

He wanted to recycle, but the initiative didn’t work out. Then, an idea struck him: what about paper bags? In three weeks, during August 2020, at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bah learned to make paper bags and thereafter founded his company, Caballay Investments; the name Caballay the nickname his uncle gave his mom.

He found his first customer and second mentor in Sierra Leone, Rodney Hughes. The very first order was for 70 bags.

But Bah did not have the capital to get started on the order, so Hughes gave him some valuable business advice – “What you need to do first in business if you don’t have money to start is – always ask
your customer to give you a deposit.”

Bah worked day and night to deliver and soon began acquiring more customers. In the meantime, the Anzisha Prize had always inspired him, so he applied, and at 21, he made the shortlist.

But then, there were setbacks in store. One morning, a heavy downpour caused flooding, and he lost all his wares.

He gave up for three months, taking on only bits of work.

But he read about a character who faced adversity, and sitting in the shade of a tree, the character said to himself “after all this long work, if I give up, what will it give me”.

And so Bah resolved to start in earnest again. He saved money, sold his bed, and even sold stickers. He was granted $1,000 through the Anzisha Prize Fellowship in 2021, and made $5,000 through the Tony Elumelu Foundation. He wanted to use the money to set up an office and expand, but there were still many curveballs to resolve– he bought the wrong materials to make paper bags, and during Covid-19, prices went up.

He used the power of networking, and found that hotels use paper bags the most, and so began marketing mainly in that direction, also supplying them handmade to supermarkets, fashion stores, stationery shops, printing presses and restaurants.

Today, he is set to build on his learnings and make a difference to the circular economy. His piece of advice? “You need to have passion for what you do, and a love for learning. After every failure, there is another opportunity.” And he isn’t shy of admitting his mistakes as a young businessman. He has relied on feedback from customers to scale up his business and bag every opportunity in his way.

Published on: Forbes Africa

The post NOT CARRIED AWAY: From Plastic To Paper in Sierra Leone appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

In the midst of this chaos trying to change the narrative and provide access to healthcare to those on the lower end of the food chain is FIDIO – an initiative by Alpha.MD is using telemedicine through Mobile Health Kiosks to provide affordable healthcare services to low-income households and communities in Nigeria.

Despite having the largest GDP of any African country, Nigeria’s spending on healthcare isn’t commensurate with the country’s earnings when compared with other large economies on the continent. In fact, Nigeria will need to invest an additional $82 billion to add 386,000 hospital beds to catch up to the world average of 2.7 beds per 1,000 people. Also, at least 2000 Medical Doctors migrate from Nigeria yearly to the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, UAE and South Africa all in search of greener pastures. This brain drain in the medical sector means that the current patient-to-doctor ratio in Nigeria stands at 4:10,000, which falls below the recommended 1:600 by the World Health Organization (WHO).

To combat this low patient-to-doctor ratio challenge, FIDIO provides thousands of Nigerians especially those in low-income communities access to quality healthcare through their community of Doctors via video calls.

Although the healthtech startup launched in 2017 as ALPHA.MD, it rebranded to FIDIO (sounds like “video” in Yoruba) recently, when the Mobile Health Kiosk launched. FIDIO was co-founded by Oba Sanni, an IT professional, and his childhood friend, Michael Talabi, a Cuba-licensed Medical Doctor now practising in Nigeria.

In a bid to provide affordable, convenient and accessible quality healthcare service to low-income families, Oba and Michael created an app with which people could receive medical attention from the comfort of their homes. They soon realized that wasn’t their target audience as most of these people preferred to walk into a hospital and interact with a Doctor physically.

“We did more research and realized there is a demography of people without access to healthcare at all. These are people in the low-income and remote areas, so we decided to focus on them,” Oba said. “But we encountered a challenge; most of these people have no access to smartphones so they might not be able to use the mobile app. This eventually led us to the idea of a Mobile Health Kiosk.”

These Kiosks have been retrofitted with devices such as smart screens (installed with the Fidio App), internet, solar inverters etc. For now, there are 3 of them located in Ajah, Ilupeju and Amuwo Odofin, all in Lagos. The choice of location is to consolidate the efforts of Dr Talabi who prior to the launch had an active medical outreach in these communities, including the Shanty community in Ajah where one of the kiosks is located.

At the kiosks, there are clinicians and auxiliary nurses who take the vitals and other preliminary readings of patients when they come in, input it in-app for the consulting doctor and record purposes and then connect them to one of the FIDIO community of Doctors via video call. The Doctors then make a simple diagnosis, hospital referrals, drugs prescription etc based on their interaction with the patient.

Each consultation session at the kiosk costs between ₦200-₦500 (subsidized) while follow-up consultations are free. ‘’Although we spend more than we make especially on the cost of consultants and auxiliary staff, so far, we have raised $150,000 from an Angel Investor, Olumide Soyombo and an initial $5,000 from the Tony Elumelu Foundation and other investors to keep business afloat,” Oba revealed. He added that the nurses and clinicians at each kiosk average 1000 patient visitations per month and have attended to about 30,000 patients since the Mobile Health Kiosk launched.

FIDIO makes access to quality healthcare available to low-income communities through video interaction with a community of seasoned and experienced medical practitioners across the country. The service is also affordable, and convenient, with an electronic record of every patient’s medical history. They also intend to start a remote monitoring feature for patients with chronic conditions to ensure adherence to treatment and instructions, thereby reducing the risk of complications and ensuring complete recovery of the patient.

In addition to making medical consultations available to all, FIDIO’s healthcare model holds the promise of revitalizing the primary and community healthcare system in Nigeria. So far, the health startup has helped increase awareness of the importance of routine medical checkups, while dissuading the use of self-medication in local communities.

Published on: Ventures Africa

The post FIDIO MAKES STRIDES WITH INNOVATIVE HEALTHCARE DELIVERY IN NIGERIA appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

The business has two sections which is: Ready to wear urban clothing and apparel branding / printing.

How long the business has been in existence

Over 36 months.

What led him to be an entrepreneur (His passion for fashion)

The trendiest designer in those days while he was schooling at the Federal Government College Minna was Sean John. He had loved this brand and as a result would use his pen to write the signature brand ‘Sean John’ on the shirts of his classmates. He enjoyed thinking out of the box so much that when he got into the University, he would use markers to design more professionally on shirts till they looked better and different.

This metamorphosed into designing t-shirts for his family as well as friends of the family. The more people wore these shirts the more encouraged he became. Upon completing his tertiary education in 2015, his major customer owned a bar at Lekki Gardens, Lagos, Nigeria.

His good marketing skills and creativity had charmed this customer so much that they both struck a deal ‘Franklin could now use the office space and the printing materials that the customer had acquired but will remit 60% of his returns on a weekly basis’.

Franklin had used this office space judiciously and had renumerated this benefactor and his staff (Four permanent staff and two contract staff) as at when due.

Over time and with more business deals, it became more obvious that he needed to scale his business and that includes increasing the size of his space. He had applied to the Tony Elumelu Foundation entrepreneurship program in 2017 and was happy to be selected.

The post Meet 2017 TEF Alumni, Franklin Isinguzo who runs a Fashion and apparel printing startup in Nigeria appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Over the years, Nneile has had a very interesting and commendable entrepreneurship journey, and one can easily see that impact has been at the core of all her activities. She is a mechanical engineering graduate, who has pivoted to biotechnology and the design of innovative solutions for animal care.

In 2015, she served as the co-founder of iMed Tech, a medical prosthesis design and manufacturing company, that specializes in breast prosthesis using 3D design and additive manufacturing in the process chain.

Popularly known as the entrepreneur who uses technology for animal husbandry, this entrepreneurship adventure led her to the launch of her company, 3DIMO. What initially started as a company focused on sports tech and designed software to provide coaches with insight into players’ performance and allows them to predict risks of overload, has since grown to become a tech solution that automates the analysis of animal data and generates a universally traceable digital identification of each animal linked to a breeder following the effects of the pandemic on the sports industry.

Her excellent track record has led to her being recognised by various notable platforms since her participation in the 2016 Tony Elumelu Foundation Programme.

Nneile’s work in prosthesis fabrication using Additive Manufacturing has led her to being recognised as Africa’s top Female Innovator in 2016 and also South Africa youth of the year in 2017.  Following her recent successes, she launched 3dimo, focused on the detection of sports injuries, prevention, and rehabilitation. She creates digital models for athletes that are analyzed and observes what happens when athletes train to predict injuries.

3DIMO’s product, Thola, provides a globally accessible animal biometric identification, linking an animal to a farmer. Thola is a system that uses animal nose prints to create a biometric identity for each animal. Thola is then used to detect any health risks in livestock in real-time by leveraging infrared imagery and artificial intelligence. By detecting anomalies in livestock within a farm and nearby regions this system is able to alert local farmers should there be a breakout of disease. In-app notifications help farmers to prevent losses by seeking timely treatment or vaccination for their herd.

She credits the foundation for helping her to develop a sustainable business that has now impacted thousands across South Africa.

The post TEF Alumna, Nneile Nkholise wins International Award in African Entrepreneur Category appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Greenrev Gr is an agribusiness enterprise reducing horticultural harvest losses and adding micro-nutrient, to improve livelihoods through high profits and diversified nutrient-rich diets. The enterprise is committed to the fight against malnutrition and is interested in the seeding of vegetables and cereals to their processing level.

Since then, there have been significant achievements on his entrepreneurial journey and in improving and modernizing the agricultural sector. In 2020, he was featured in the UN SDSN report 2020 for his work with World Food Program (WFP-Rwanda). In addition, he is a part of Sight and Life Rwanda with the mission to establish SBN-RWANDA chapter.

For Joseph, when it comes to being healthy, prevention is better than cure. In Africa, fortification is not new, but Greenrev gr’s delivery model is a groundbreaking approach. They are revolutionising the food system without having to change it. For example, the thousands of small farmers and food processing already existed. The market and demand for fruits and vegetables have always existed. What the enterprise does is improve an existing product already widely consumed by hundreds of millions of Africans.

Their solution requires minimal behaviour change, which is key to its success and enables it to scale efficiently. So far, they have impacted more than 8.5+ million including customers, smallholder farmers and cooperatives, and project to reach over 100 million people by 2025. This would require a new and technological milling plant and advanced laboratory equipment to ensure quality, nutrition and safety.

As Greenrev gr’s continues to impact lives, they hope to adopt the new normal, especially in Horticulture and fighting against Malnutrition through institutional partnerships and market investments.

The post Greenrev’s Approach to Fighting Malnourishment in Rwanda appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Rwanda often experienced a surplus of sweet potatoes. Everyone was growing sweet potatoes in the rural areas and eating them boiled – the same way they had been preparing them for decades. Yet, while the population in Rwanda’s urban areas increased as people moved into the cities, they could not get themselves to enjoy sweet potatoes because they had been conditioned to the traditional way it was prepared.

Once, while discussing business opportunities with colleagues, Regis shared his idea of adding value to sweet potatoes and they all decided to start a company, CARL Group – a recipient of the 2016 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur Programme fund. Today, they are making bread and biscuits from sweet potato.

They produce orange-fleshed sweet potatoes that have a high vitamin content, particularly vitamin A. The main product of the CARL Group company is “VitA Bread”, a certified Made in Rwanda product and one of two kinds of bread to receive Standard Certification from the Rwandan Standard Board. VITA bread is made from OFSP which is a biofortified sweet potato rich in beta-carotene, a precursor of Vitamin A.

CARL Group sources the raw materials for the bread from around 1000 individuals, cooperatives and groups of farmers in Rwanda. The end products are processed daily by a highly qualified team of twelve young visionaries and finished products are then sold in 35 supermarkets and online grocery stores across several neighbourhoods in Kigali, primarily to low and middle-income urban consumers.

The social impact of CARL Group is felt widely across Rwanda because sweet potato is widely cultivated throughout the region; the number of farmers they work with grows as the demand for their products increases. They currently work with five online e-commerce platforms in Kigali.

Through diligence and an environmentally-conscious mentality, they continue to minimise wastage of orange-fleshed sweet potatoes and improve OFSP value-chains to increase production and utilization in Rwanda as well as reducing malnutrition among children and pregnant women.

To be the most trustable, admired, efficient, successful and innovative company in Rwanda and internationally, Regis knows that he must keep growing and keep believing in his ideas.

The post Regis Umugiraneza’s Innovative Idea is Maximizing the Use of Sweet Potatoes in Rwanda appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Still so young, she got engaged in scouting, which further inspired her desire to foster community-driven work. She challenged himself with tasks that were in service of the community. While being involved, she experienced firsthand the practice of entrepreneurship, being a part of the Scouting African Region through the Fifth World Center Pilot Project: ‘Developing Entrepreneurs of Leadership Throughout Africa’ in Lagos.

This project further inspired an even stronger sense of commitment to the social and economic issues her community faced, and intimately awakened specific interests in the world of business. Since then, she has frequently invested all personal resources in organising people to work together to assist others – especially women, young girls and physically challenged touched by various hardships, conflict and misfortune. This decision came equally with the desire to promote income-generating activities and strengthen the capacities of its members in different areas of activity, from sewing, masonry, handicrafts, and carpentry.

Around the world, people with disability face several challenges. In the Central African Republic, Kobozo’s organization is trying to solve the socio-economic barriers that further marginalize people living with disabilities. They offer basic education and teach certain skill sets with the expected outcome that their efforts will translate to marginalized people in the Central African Republic becoming more economically independent and are able to sustain themselves using the education and skills acquired from being empowered.

To create awareness, Kobozo uses radio, television, newspaper, social platforms on the internet and a user-friendly website; while it generates revenue from the sale of finished products, clothes fashion items and accessories produced. The social enterprise’s most significant achievement so far is the recognition from the Ministry of SMEs in Central African Republic as an NGO – giving them the opportunity to continue to drive impact. A major concern at the “WA NZIN A GA ZO” is that different people in the world tend to separate physically handicapped people from their societies. Physically challenged people, in the Central African Republic especially those at the bottom of the pyramid have been denied jobs in corporate, and several other opportunities. As such, they are unable to support their living.

In a society where physically handicapped people are not considered valuable and are not given opportunities to contribute to their community through work or other valuable activities, “WA NZIN A GA ZO”, provides a good quality dress catalogue and custom-designed baskets. The organisation creates impact by empowering the physically challenged to building a life of their own and becoming active participants within their society. It trains and connects them to paid work, offers basic education, teaches skill sets and providing business tools that create independence.

Even through the COVID-19 pandemic, WA NZIN A GA ZO continued to support the physically challenged by raising awareness about preventive measures among people living with disabilities in the eastern region bordering the Republic of Cameroon – a country heavily affected by this pandemic. They worked with unemployed and destitute young people, as well as street children, to avoid the spread of COVID-19. They also provided a means to facilitate the circulation and access to at-risk households, such as nose covers, gloves and handwashing kits.

For Kobozo, the mission is simple: how does our society evolve if it does not foster acceptance. It was the central question that led to the birth of one of Kenya’s social enterprises, with a focus on providing humanitarian aid to vulnerable people; raising awareness among the population on citizenship, peace, social cohesion and living together; fighting against gender-based violence, STI/AIDS and other pandemic diseases.

As a social entrepreneur, she is deeply concerned about maintaining sustainability. Recently, she joined the WEDO (Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization) organisation as Ambassador for the Central African Republic. In December 2020, she successfully organised an event with young women, and interacted with UN Women CAR. She hopes to join the community of the World Fair Trade Organization (Africa) based in Nairobi, with the expectation to expand her organization’s operations and have a bigger impact on her targets. The set-challenge is to have enough space where physically challenged people can convene around the basketry and sewing activities.

Kobozo continues to generate economic activities within the physically challenged people ecosystem. She is bridging the gap between the physically challenged people in the Central African Republic, helping them become integrated into mainstream society, giving them a sense of belonging and active citizenry. Though her organisation is not generating revenue, Kobozo’s truest benefit is in creating a space where everyone is recognized and given the purest form of dignity to live meaningful lives.

The post How Mauricette Kobozo Yadibert is Driving Inclusivity in the Central African Republic appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Every entrepreneur is familiar with the feeling of trepidation just before taking the leap to begin a new business or become an entrepreneur: Do I have what it takes? Is it worth it? How do I start?

Getting through this stage usually requires validating ideas and exploring to understand more about their industry and product.

In this interview with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Botswana entrepreneur Nametso Matlhaga, a 33-year-old young female entrepreneur with a decade of experience in jewelry, manufacturing, and retail in Botswana, shares her journey to becoming an entrepreneur in Africa.

Career Influences

Nametso loves to work on her own own terms, bringing her vision to life in order to create her own legacy. She grew up in a family of 3, surrounded by entrepreneurs, working under her uncle who had a jewelry business which I grew up working under during my school breaks.

“At the age of 18, I started off my first business which was a construction business. The business was making money but it was challenging to deal with both my employees and clients as I was relatively young and newly started an independent business,” she says.

Nametso later made the switch from construction to establish her own jewelry manufacturing business. “It has now been 10 years since I ventured into Matthan Jewlery, my jewelry business. I have always wanted to work in a sector that is dominated by men, that has been a great motivator to pursue and grow as an entrepreneur. From way back, I have known most of the jewelers to be men, so I wanted to change that record especially in my country and in Africa that also women can venture into jewelry manufacturing. I love my work though it does not allow me to do my nails.”

Getting into the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme

Nametso tells the story of how she met an alumni of the Foundation Mavis Nduchwa. In 2017, Mavis who was also selected for 2015 Cohort, was talking to entrepreneurs about the opportunities the Programme affords entrepreneurs in Kasane. It was here Nametso decided to try her luck, after which she made it to the 2018 cohort.

“I successfully completed the 2018 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship training programme. It has been an amazing journey for me and I benefited so much from the training. A lot of it has to do with financial discipline, branding, personal branding, marketing and more on networking. Since the TEF experience, I am more opened minded. I am mentoring young Botswana who are doing extremely well in their businesses and some of them where selected for TEF program in 2019.”

“At the TEF Forum, I loved the pitching competition though I am quite a shy person, but it was amazing to see how young people in Africa have so much to offer to our continent and it took one man’s dream to actually see that and put it out there for the world to see. Young Africans are talented, they are a full package. I am strongly for entrepreneurship, women empowerment, mentorship, and a believer in positive thinking.”

Overcoming Challenges Encountered

As the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic reverberated across the world, she decided to learn and embrace the challenge brought upon by the effects of lockdowns and changes to what was “normal”. “We have been actively growing our social media platforms and mobilizing for online sales which is one area we intend to grow over this season.”

Some of the challenges I had was capital to grow the business, which I got through the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Having the right entrepreneurial skill was a challenge and such knowledge and skills are fundamental to running a successful business. The TEF entrepreneurship program was fundamental to giving not just the funding, but the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge to execute a successful business.

Milestone

Nametso is expanding business operations in Botswana, and says they are increasing output and successfully meeting market demand.

“We have successfully registered our business in Nigeria which we have focused to operate by June 2021.”

“My plan is to have two more branches within Botswana by 2021 and one operating in Nigeria. Though we are successfully selling nationwide via online sales couriers we see potential in increased sales by having additional branches.”

Impact

Matthan Jewlery currently has 5 employees. Other than employing members of their locality, Nametso also actively mobilizes entrepreneurs in her locality to apply for the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, with 4 candidates who successful enrolled and benefitted on the 2019 program.

“I have learnt that patience is paramount to making your goal and vision a reality. Through the experience I have gained over my entrepreneurial journey, my mind has been open to so many opportunities around us and how to smartly engage myself and the resources around me to get things done.

My advice to young people and other aspiring entrepreneurs is that we are well capable. We can indeed make it through entrepreneurship, our economies need us, Africa needs us and you owe it to yourself to become everything you ever dreamt of being.”

The post Taking the Leap into Entrepreneurship appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Em 2020, o mundo parou, mas nós não.

Quando lançamos a Fundação Tony Elumelu em 2010, fizemos algo novo na África – “democratizamos” a sorte. Em minha própria jornada empresarial, eu sabia que a sorte tinha desempenhado um papel importante e estava determinado a que outros, muitos outros, tivessem as mesmas chances.

Criamos uma instituição com um único foco: jovens empreendedores africanos. Há dez anos, sabíamos que, se equipássemos os jovens com as ferramentas e as oportunidades de sucesso, essa seria a única maneira sustentável e digna de criar um caminho de prosperidade para todos; substituindo apostilas por autossuficiência e sendo pioneira em uma filantropia do século 21.

Queríamos mudar a forma como a África é percebida e como a África cresce – criando algo transformador, escalável, inclusivo, focado na juventude e liderado pela África. A ajuda tem um papel, salvou muitas vidas, mas não desafia o status quo. O empreendedorismo, não a caridade, nos dá controle e nos permite desenvolver nossos talentos, aproveitar nosso impulso e nossa resiliência, como africanos.

Ao comemorarmos 10 anos, olhamos para as iniciativas que criaram independência e autossustentação: O Programa de Profissionais Elumelu trouxe alunos de MBA das principais escolas de negócios globais para empresas africanas, demonstrando as oportunidades em nosso continente; o Prêmio Tony & Awele Elumelu, que reconhece centenas de estudantes de alto desempenho de universidades de toda a África; um Fundo de Empreendedorismo de $ 100.000 para financiamento inicial de 20 empresas de tecnologia africanas líderes; o Impact Economy Innovations Fund (IEIF) – uma iniciativa conjunta de US $ 650.000 com a Fundação Rockefeller para identificar e financiar start-ups catalíticos em toda a África; e em 2015, em parceria com o governo dos EUA para lançar a Iniciativa SPARK, uma plataforma do setor privado para promover uma maior cooperação e colaboração global para o empreendedorismo.

Mais importante ainda, celebramos nosso Programa de Empreendedorismo, que financiou, treinou e orientou mais de 9.000 jovens empreendedores em menos de sete anos e, com a ajuda de nosso hub TEFConnect de acesso aberto, atingiu milhões na África. Muitas instituições parceiras globais, como a Comissão Europeia, o Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento, a Cruz Vermelha e o Banco Africano de Desenvolvimento aderiram ao movimento.

O que fazemos se tornou cada vez mais importante em 2020.

O DESAFIO DE COVID

Era imperativo que respondêssemos imediatamente. Fomos um dos primeiros a catalisar os esforços de recuperação da Covid-19 pan-africana, com uma doação de US $ 14 milhões por meio da Fundação United Bank for Africa, para governos de toda a África. A África precisava galvanizar rapidamente seus próprios recursos e garantir que continuemos a proteger pessoas e empresas, vidas e meios de subsistência.

TEFConnect, – a maior comunidade digital para empreendedores africanos, ultrapassando fronteiras, cultura, idioma e setores, também desempenhou um papel crítico. A plataforma ajuda a garantir a competitividade, o crescimento e a escala do setor privado africano. Implantamos rapidamente o TEFConnect para atender às necessidades de uma comunidade empreendedora, significativamente desafiada pela pandemia. Enquanto o mundo fechava, oferecemos masterclasses conduzidos por especialistas para encorajar o ecossistema das PME africanas, cobrindo tópicos perspicazes sobre o crescimento e inovação dos negócios que contribuíram para como as empresas podem se adaptar ao novo normal.

Fizemos treinamento de classe mundial, com instituições como a Universidade de Yale, e trouxemos habilidades de gerenciamento de projetos e mecanismo de enfrentamento de saúde mental para empreendedores africanos, cuidando de sua mente e espírito, enquanto os ajudamos a reestruturar seus negócios para o novo normal. TEFConnect ajudou a garantir uma rede mais forte de empreendedores africanos. Nosso raciocínio é simples: usar os recursos naturais africanos para fornecer energia à África, criar cadeias de valor baseadas na África e garantir a criação de valor baseada na África. Treinamos e equipamos milhares de empreendedores por meio do TEFConnect durante a paralisação e continuaremos a alcançar ainda mais.

Foi um ano de desafios extraordinários, cujo impacto econômico nos acompanhará por muitos anos, e fomos incansáveis ​​em avançar.

O PODER DA PARCERIA

Com nossas parcerias, alavancamos nossa plataforma e processo robustos e estendemos nosso alcance. A pandemia interrompeu os negócios e as PMEs estão encolhendo, as empresas precisam fazer mais com menos recursos e há volatilidade nos gastos do consumidor.

Agora, mais do que nunca, convidamos você a se juntar a nós nesta jornada, para trabalhar lado a lado para expandir nosso Programa de Empreendedorismo, em todos os 54 países africanos, para dar a mais jovens empreendedores uma chance de sucesso, uma tábua de salvação.

Parceria de 20 milhões de euros com a União Europeia – Defendendo a Mulher Empreendedora

Temos o prazer de anunciar a nossa parceria de 20 milhões de euros com a Comissão Europeia e a Organização dos Estados da África, Caraíbas e Pacífico (OACPS), para apoiar mais de 2.500 mulheres empresárias, fornecer formação empresarial sensível ao género, bem como capital inicial para negócios de mulheres africanas que navegem pelas fases de start-up e crescimento inicial.

As estatísticas sobre o empreendedorismo feminino na África são moderadoras – as mulheres representam 58% da população autônoma do continente, mas ganham 34% menos lucros em média, com um déficit financeiro estimado de $ 20 bilhões para as mulheres africanas. Nosso objetivo é que mais mulheres participem do desenvolvimento econômico, realizem todo o seu potencial e acelerem a inclusão econômica. Por muito tempo, as mulheres africanas enfrentaram obstáculos sistêmicos para iniciar, crescer e manter seus negócios. Estamos aliviando o financiamento, o conhecimento e as restrições de mercado que ameaçam os meios de subsistência dessas empresárias no continente e promovemos um ambiente que criará mais renda, empregos, crescimento e escala para os negócios pertencentes a mulheres.

Programa de Empreendedorismo TEF-PNUD Mali

Vemos o empreendedorismo como a solução para os desafios muito visíveis que vemos na África: migração forçada, extremismo e instabilidade política.

Com o Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento (PNUD), lançamos o Programa de Empreendedorismo do TEF-PNUD no Mali para treinar, orientar e financiar 10.000 jovens empreendedores do Mali, durante um período de 3 anos. Mais de 1,7 milhão de pessoas foram deslocadas pela violência no Mali desde 2012, parte da crise mais ampla do Sahel. Com as perturbações políticas no país, a agitação juvenil, a violência e a insegurança generalizadas, o Programa de Empreendedorismo do TEF-PNUD no Mali aborda os fatores econômicos que perpetuam o conflito e a agitação. Nosso Programa de Empreendedorismo demonstra que o empreendedorismo é a ferramenta singular mais eficaz para a criação de empregos, oportunidades, esperança econômica, ao mesmo tempo que promove o crescimento sustentado, a redução da pobreza e, em última análise, a paz e a estabilidade. Entregamos este programa no prazo de 8 semanas, com orientação, treinamento e desembolso de fundos para 1.860 jovens empreendedores do Mali antes de 30 de dezembro.

PROGRAMA DE EMPREENDEDORISMO TONY ELUMELU

Agora em nosso 7º ano administrando o maior programa de empreendedorismo do continente, estamos particularmente focados na igualdade de gênero como um caminho crítico para aumentar e expandir os efeitos positivos do trabalho que fazemos na Fundação. A maioria de nossos empreendedores está familiarizada com essa ênfase na inclusão. Nosso Programa de Empreendedorismo visa todos os setores e todas as etapas do negócio, desde a fase de concepção, por um motivo: o desenvolvimento sustentável deve ser inclusivo. É o único canal para uma mudança verdadeira e tangível. Quando pensamos em transformação socioeconômica, quem estamos deixando para trás e a que custo? As mulheres, que muitas vezes desempenham o papel duplo de provedoras de família e cuidadoras, estão entre as mais atingidas pela pandemia COVID-19. As mulheres ganham menos, poupam menos, têm empregos menos seguros e são mais propensas a trabalhar na economia informal, com menos acesso à proteção social.

AUDIÇÃO

Quando falamos sobre o trabalho que fazemos, precisamos ter certeza de que também estamos ouvindo.

Foi nesta escuta que refinámos o nosso conteúdo de formação empresarial para empreendedores – um currículo para empreendedores iniciantes, intermédios e avançados – para os podermos assistir de forma adequada no seu próprio percurso de conhecimento. Sabemos que atingir nossos objetivos exige revisões periódicas em como operamos.

Também estamos fazendo um balanço dos dados que coletamos nos últimos dez anos, analisando as lições aprendidas por nossos empreendedores em suas viagens, entendendo melhor nosso impacto e os resultados de nossas intervenções na África. Este trabalho é essencial para que possamos refletir sobre a melhor forma de continuar a capacitar, servir e apoiar start-ups na África.

ANSIOSOS

Sabemos que um setor privado estável e competitivo é um pré-requisito para a prosperidade econômica e resolverá algumas de nossas necessidades mais urgentes como continente. Devemos todos promover de forma proativa a filosofia do africapitalismo que posiciona o setor privado, e mais importante os empreendedores, como o catalisador para o desenvolvimento social e econômico do continente africano. Eu defendo este esforço de advocacia com formuladores de políticas, governos e Chefes de Estado em todas as oportunidades que surgem quer em casa na África e globalmente.

Foi por permanecermos fiéis à nossa filosofia sobre o africapitalismo e nosso papel como líderes do setor privado africano, que nossa curadora na Fundação e fundadora e CEO da Avon Medical, Dra. Awele Elumelu, foi nomeada para o Conselho Consultivo do Instituto de Saúde Global de Yale .

No hackathon afro-europeu online com o Presidente da Estônia em Dezembro passado, (UE: A JORNADA PÓS-CRISE DA ÁFRICA), falei sobre a necessidade de um ambiente propício para as start-ups africanas e como as inovações e os negócios não terão sucesso de outra forma. Continuo inspirado pelas possibilidades que podem ser cultivadas a partir do rico solo fértil da África, onde o acesso, a inovação e o discípulo se encontram e se sobrepõem. Fico muito animado com os nossos empreendedores, que agora têm capacidade para criar mais empregos, que estendem a mensagem do esforço coletivo, que permite que cada vez mais pessoas fiquem cada vez menos fadadas à pobreza.

Nos próximos 10 anos, à medida que a Fundação alcança sua meta de capacitar 10.000 empreendedores com antecedência, nosso foco é acelerar o alcance e o impacto para outros milhares. Falamos sobre a necessidade de transformação, sim, mas nenhuma transformação verdadeira é possível sem todos nós. A magia da filantropia é que uma vida mudada afeta muito mais pessoas. Nosso principal motivo para advocacy é promover o valor e a auto-estima de nossas identidades como africanos. Que possamos realmente promover nossas próprias comunidades. Sentimo-nos humildes pelo espírito de empreendedorismo na África.

Em nome do Conselho de Curadores, funcionários, amigos e empreendedores da Fundação Tony Elumelu, quero saudar nossa resiliência e expressar total confiança em nossa capacidade de fazer o bem significativo, mensurável e sustentável.

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