With the Onwuamaeze dike
Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) founder Tony O. Elumelu reiterated that empowering young people to succeed through entrepreneurship is one of the safest and most sustainable ways to create a path to prosperity for all in Africa.
Elumelu stated clearly that the TEF believes in “entrepreneurship as the solution to the very visible challenges we see in Africa: forced migration, extremism and political instability”.
He spoke in TEF’s 2020 Annual Letter (Report), titled “The Power of Entrepreneurship Amid Uncertainty,” which highlighted the Foundation’s achievements in supporting a growing and dynamic entrepreneurship ecosystem of one million Africans, the strategic is expanding partnerships to scale the existing TEF entrepreneurship program to reach more small businesses in all 54 African and other countries to help mitigate the effects of the pandemic and support young entrepreneurs.
These successes also include the TEF’s 20 million euro partnership with the European Union and the Organization of African and Caribbean States (OACPS) to support more than 2,500 women entrepreneurs:
He said, “Our goal is to get more women involved in economic development, realizing their full potential and accelerating economic inclusion.”
The TEF’s founder noted that entrepreneurship, not charity, would put Africans in control, allowing them to develop their talents, harness their drive and resilience as a continent.
He said, “We wanted to change how Africa is perceived and how Africa is growing by creating something that is transformative, scalable, inclusive, youth-oriented and African-led.
“Aid has a role, it has saved many lives, but it doesn’t question the status quo.
“Our entrepreneurship program shows that entrepreneurship is the uniquely most effective instrument for creating jobs, opportunities, economic hope, stability, peace, sustainable growth and fighting poverty.
“In 2020 the world stopped, but we didn’t. When we launched the TEF in 2010, we did something new in Africa – we “democratized” happiness.
“On my own entrepreneurial journey, I knew luck was important and I was determined that others, many others, would be given the same opportunities. We have created an institution with a single focus: young African entrepreneurs.
“We have curated world-class training, delivered expert-led masterclasses at institutions like Yale University, and taught African entrepreneurs project management skills and mental health management mechanisms, taking care of their minds and spirits, and helping them restructure their businesses the new normal. “
Other notable achievements of the foundation are the TEF-UNDP Mali Entrepreneurship Program, which was launched amid conflict, political instability and insecurity in the Sahel country and has displaced over 1.7 million people through violence in Mali since 2012.
He said the $ 100 million TEF Entrepreneurship program has provided over 9,000 young African entrepreneurs from 54 African countries with world-class business education, mentoring, $ 5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, and global networking and market opportunities.
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