Aisha Buhari (middle) in pose with other dignitaries at the event
The new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has indicated that 3,050 young African entrepreneurs have been selected to take part in the Foundation’s 5th cycle $100 million Entrepreneurship Forum to be held from July 26-27, this year in Abuja, Nigeria.
The TEF, founded by Tony Elumelu, is geared towards equipping entrepreneurs with business development skills.
TET is the leading philanthropy in Africa committed to empowering Africa entrepreneurs.
Addressing guests at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja in Nigeria recently, the CEO disclosed that the forum is the largest gathering of entrepreneurs on the African continent.
He indicated that the climax would be the presentation of a non-refundable $5,000 to each selected entrepreneur by the foundation and its partners as startup capital.
In addition, he stated that they would undergo mentoring and a 12-week business development training programme aimed at equipping them with relevant skills in their specialized fields.
He said that the foundation has offered support to 1,000 entrepreneurs in the past, adding that for the 2019 intake, 216,000 applications were received out of which 90,000 were females.
According to him, the selection process for the 5th cycle was carried out by world-class Accenture Development Partners.
While paying tribute to Tony Elumelu for coming out with the foundation which has become a world acclaimed business hub for starters, he revealed that it has benefited 7,520 entrepreneurs over the past five years.
Presently, the foundation has introduced the TEFConnect as a digital networking platform to link beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries to share best practices.
Tony Elumelu said that Africa is endowed with people who have very rich entrepreneurial talents.
He mentioned that the time has come for governments and the business community to pool resources together to develop talents for enhanced productivity.
The First Lady of the Republic of Nigerian, Aisha Buhari, charged the beneficiaries to work hard to expand their businesses in line with the vision of the foundation which is dedicated to job creation and advancement of the African continent.
“I am happy to be part of this meeting and believe that the selected entrepreneurs, besides the joy of receiving the very juicy startup amounts, will give off their best and inspire deep confidence and change on the African continent,” she added.
From Business Desk