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The United States Consulate has identified entrepreneurship as the key driver to job growth, political stability and economic prosperity in Nigeria.
Speaking at a press conference in Lagos organised to announce the partnership of the US Consulate with the Tony Elemelu Foundation (TEF), the US Consul General, Claire Pierangelo, said the partnership defines the mutual commitment to promoting entrepreneurship as the key driver of job growth, economic prosperity and political stability in Nigeria.
“Through a public diplomacy grant of $105,000, the U.S. Consulate is supporting the training of a cohort of entrepreneurs from southern Nigeria under the 2019 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme,” she said.
She noted that, under the partnership, twenty U.S. Consulate/TEF Fellows have been selected from the Southern region of the country and they are also to receive additional entrepreneurship training at the U.S. Consulate General that utilize some of the resources of the Young African Leaders Initiative, including alumni of the Mandela Washington Fellowship.
The Consul General stressed that, the Fellows were selected from the Consular District with a priority been placed on five key sectors, energy, technology, transportation, agriculture, and health.
She added that, the program is intended to give them insight to innovative U.S. business models that will help them manage their businesses, market their products or services, seek capital, and develop partnerships.
Pierangelo stated that, one of the U.S. mission primary goals is to support Nigeria’s economic development and entrepreneurship is the key driver of economic growth and success.
The partnership with the TEF promotes the consul ongoing efforts to advance entrepreneurship in Nigeria and also is another example of their long standing commitment to supporting Nigeria as it strives to diversify its economy.
She applaud the leadership of the TEF for their dedication to empowering budding African entrepreneurs as catalyst for the social and economic development of the continent.
The CEO of the foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, said the purpose of the partnership was to leverage the novel philanthropy model pioneered by the TEF focused on empowering African entrepreneurs.
She said, the foundation’s flagship entrepreneurship programme has committed $100 million in order to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries within a period of 10 years, and also aims to create millions of jobs and revenue across the region, thereby breaking the cycle of poverty on the continent.
She stressed that the pan-African programme has thus far produced 7,531 young entrepreneurs across all the 54 Africa countries and also in the last five years the foundation has seen an exponential increase in interest in the programme, leading them to seek strategic partners who can sponsor more youths.
