Building and Empowering Entrepreneurs is the Route to Eradicating Poverty and Creating Economic Transformation in Africa
The CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, stated that
building and empowering entrepreneurs is the route to eradicating
poverty and creating economic transformation in Africa. She said this in
a fireside chat in Brussels where she was a guest of King Philippe and
Queen Mathilde of Belgium as one of Tony Elumelu Foundation past
beneficiaries, Wecyclers received the African Development Prize awarded
by the King Baudouin Foundation.
During her remarks, she emphasized the need for Africans to develop a
job-creating mentality not a job-seeking mentality to catalyse the
economic development on the continent.
She linked this to the work of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and its
impact on the African continent. Its mission is to empower 10,000
African entrepreneurs in 10 years through its Entrepreneurship
Programme. Just half-way through the Programme, the Foundation has
empowered 7,520 African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries,
providing its alumni with non-refundable seed capital of $5,000 each,
training, mentoring and networking opportunities. To further scale the
impact of its work beyond its 10,000-beneficiary goal, the Foundation
launched TEFConnect—the largest digital networking platform for African
entrepreneurs—late last year. Already, the platform boasts over 500,000
registered users who network, do business and forge partnerships across
the continent.
Hosted by the King Baudouin Foundation, the ceremony was in honour of
the Nigerian business Wecyclers for their contribution to the
development of sustainable recycling and environmental wellbeing. In
2012, Wecyclers received a seed capital from the Tony Elumelu Foundation
through a partnership with accelerator, CCHub.
Following the presentation of the prize to Olawale Adebiyi, Wecyclers
CEO, Mrs. Ugochukwu commended the work of the team. The award
represented further credence to the importance and potential of
entrepreneurship in Africa in transforming the economy and lives of
Africans.
She said, “The Wecyclers initiative is further testament to the Tony
Elumelu Foundation’s belief that all of Africa’s problems are businesses
waiting to be taken on by the bright young minds we have in Africa”.
Mrs. Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu closed her remarks by reiterating the commitment
of the Tony Elumelu Foundation to supporting SMEs and MSMEs and in turn
creating the millions of jobs that the youth population of Africa need.
