Over the weekend (10th-12th July) , Covenant University Nigeria played host to 1,000 Entrepreneurs from 51 African countries chosen through a rigorous selection process for a two-day boot camp, and from a range of industries, to participate in the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme 2015.
These Entrepreneurs went through live-action learning to hone the hard and soft skills specific to doing business in Africa, formed relationships with mentors and peers, and planted the seeds essential for pan-African collaboration and trade.
The participants had earlier pursued an intensive 12 weeks online course, guided by expert mentors from around the world and they would soon be receiving two separate rounds of long-term seed capital from the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
According to the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation; Mr Tony Elumelu; by the year 2020, 122 million Africans are projected to enter the labor force and this current entrepreneurial drive would have created enough jobs for the continent’s ever growing population.
Also, it is expected that there would be a broader revenue base for most African government as it relates to the tax to be derived.
Consequently, extreme poverty would be strategically tackled thereby sufficiently reducing its rate and impact and eventually eradicating such.
Undoubtedly, this would strengthen the continent’s economy thereby paving the way for Africa to emerge as the powerhouse it was ordained to be amidst other social & cultural benefits.
Tony Elumelu, a Nigerian, and an economist by training , in 2010, created the Tony Elumelu Foundation, and in 2015 the foundation launched the $100 million Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme to seed and support 10,000 African entrepreneurs over the next decade.
This programme represents Tony Elumelu's personal commitment to the economic philosophy of “Africapitalism”, a development model he propagated, that sees the African private sector as the catalyst in ensuring Africa’s sustainable social and economic development.
Mr. Elumelu sits on numerous public and social sector boards, including the global advisory board of the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All Initiative (SE4All), USAID’s Private Capital Group For Africa Partners’ Forum (PCGA), and the Aspen Institute's Global Food Security Working Group. He also serves on the International Advisory Board of the Washington DC based think tank The Wilson Center, and as vice chair of the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria. In addition, Mr. Elumelu serves as an adviser to president Obama's Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI).
He was recognized as one of “Africa’s 20 Most Powerful People in 2012” by Forbes Magazine and the New African Magazine featured him in their list of the “100 Most Influential Africans in Business.”
Acknowledgement:
The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneuship Programme : African needs
to search within for solution ; Tony O Elumelu CON
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