Follow Us on Google
This year’s Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum, which brought together thousands of entrepreneurs from across Africa, held recently in Lagos with seamless flow and apparent ease.
Ordinarily, the logistic challenge of hosting one thousand young people from over 54 countries and united ecosystem of players, including investors, entrepreneurs, business leaders and policy makers should be an onerous task and its success should be the beauty of the forum. But as guests expounded, the intrinsic value of addressing Africa’s twin challenges unemployment and poverty is a far greater challenge.
With Africa’s abundant natural resources and teeming population, its endemic poverty has become a perplexing paradox. In the novel, THE FALSE TRUTH, a professor tells a sad tale of the continent: “Africa’s geography and environment are in direct contrast to its political and social circumstances. A continent that is so rich in natural resources has been plagued by destructive leadership motivated mainly by greed.”
“With its pristine simplicity, the continent evokes thoughts of Eden,” the professor continued. “This is evident in her exquisite flora and fauna. At the same time, the widespread senseless poverty echoes the outback of hell, with poverty and devastating diseases serving as the hallmark of the average citizen’s daily existence.
Capturing Africa’s magnetic ability to attract perilous opposites, TIME Magazine once reported the following unpalatable fact: “Africa—especially the sub-Saharan region—has begun to look like an immense illustration of chaos theory.”
“According to observations made by the British charity Oxfam, development efforts have been in place all over the continent throughout the past two decades, yet Africans continue to grow poorer with each passing year. This is hard to believe. I don’t have to tell you that Africa is blessed with all the resources that make for greatness — human, material, and ecological.”
While much of Africa’s poverty is attributable to poor leadership, it is obvious that there is much individuals can do to better their lot and others before the red of the famine of good leadership turns green.
Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group, who spoke at the forum, offered another scary perspective: “Unemployment around the continent is troubling. A 2013 study by Brookings Institution found that African youth (15-24 years) constitute about 37% of the working age population. The same age group, however, accounts for about 0% of jobless people in Africa.
“Working poverty rates among youth in Sub-Saharan Africa was nearly 70% in 2016, translating to about 64 million working youth living in extreme or moderate poverty (less than $3.10 per day).
About 10 – 12 million young people join the continents labour market each year.”
But the man, who became an entrepreneur at young age, and is now a big industrialist across Africa, employing thousands of people, proffered a solution: “From a very early age young Africans have to be encouraged, educated, equipped and inspired to be employers of labour rather than employees.
“Entrepreneurship has the potential to be one of the most potent tools for Africa’s transformation. Entrepreneurship can create jobs and increase the middle class which is essential in sustaining economic growth.”
“We can’t look on without doing something,” says Tony Elumelu, an entrepreneur, philanthropist; and the chairman of Heirs Holdings, United Bank for Africa Plc and Transcorp Nigeria Plc. “This is as fundamental reason we have the Tony Elumelu Foundation doing what we are doing today.
He continued: “When we launched, we wanted to change the narrative on African development. We wanted to reframe the agenda, so that economic development would no longer be centred on foreign aid. We would show that Africa’s transformation could and should be driven by Africans.”
Established in 2010, The Tony Elumelu Foundation is a leading philanthropic organisation in Africa with the aim of promoting entrepreneurship as the catalyst for the socio-economic development of the continent. The Foundation has set itself apart from grant-making bodies, by operationalising integrated programmes to support entrepreneurship in Africa and by enhancing the competitiveness of the African private sector
TEF has achieved this namely through its flagship initiative – the Entrepreneurship Programme, a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train mentor and fund 10,000 entrepreneurs.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo
Vice President Osinbajo, noted for richly illustrated speeches, graced the forum with another simple but powerful speech on the same theme of what will make Africa work – the resourcefulness of its people.
“Here in this room are seated the answers to that question, indeed we have right here with us 1000 reasons why Africa would work and you are those reasons why this country will work,” he opened his presentation.
“Across agriculture, ICT, hospitality, fashion, energy, manufacturing, entertainment and many other fields, the breadth and depth of talent and innovation on display in the current and previous Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship cohort have shown that there is indeed hope.”
He had examples to show:
In the 2016 set, we have Osakwe Chukwunonso who is building vehicles that would run on clean energy.
Soji Megbowan is creating educational products that would simplify STEM especially the teaching of STEM subjects.
Sierra Leonean Edward Noni from the 2015 set built a tracking tool which was useful, following the devastating flood in his home country of Sierra Leone.
Frank Mugarura of Rwanda is the proprietor of a branding and marketing agency that is set to conquer the continent.
Nkem Okocha, Mamamoni, as she is called, runs a prolific microcredit enterprise.
“These are merely a handful of some of the inspiring stories that have preceded you and we know now that indeed Africa is set for incredible progress in the next few years.”
There are many more where that came from:
Shabbirali Hasnain Mussa, of Tanzania is of the 2017 set. He says, “After receiving the seed capital from TEF, we have secured office space, and managed to get an affordable bag making machine which produces non-woven bags. By doing this, we have had the chance to grow our business and hired 5 staff; by doing this, we doubled our output and attracted new clients.
Dennis Mulongo Mutoro, Kenya: Within two months of joining, I launched a new product. Three months later, before even completing the programme, I have made 3 sales and 1 contract for over $28,300. This I owe to TEF training alone.
The Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, etc
Citing factors like ingenuity, creativity, ideas and most importantly passion in the success of such great men around the world, Elumelu also urged the participants to be their best.
He however called on governments of various African countries to improve on the ease of doing business to enable entrepreneurs thrive. He gave the Buhari administration credit for improving the operating environment in Nigeria.
Then, he stressed the point, he has often made, that it is for Africans to develop Africa. But indeed, that should be a challenge for his enormous energy, wealth and experience.
