Africa’s leading entrepreneurship-focused philanthropic organisation, the
Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), has announced October 25, 2018, as the date
for its 4thannual TEF Entrepreneurship Forum.
The largest gathering of African entrepreneurs and the broader
entrepreneurship ecosystem will unite over 5,000 entrepreneurs, global
investors, leaders from the African public and private sectors and
developmental organisations at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos. The event
is a unique opportunity to generate ideas, forge networks and bring
policymakers and the private sector together, in a spirit of robust debate
and interaction. The 2018 cohort from the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship
Programme, as well as mentors and partners, will be present, as the
culmination of their intensive twelve-week induction.
In keeping with the Foundation’s track record―most recently with President
Macron of France―of bringing politicians face to face with the new
generation of young business women and men shaping Africa, the Forum will
include an interactive session with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and
President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, moderated by TEF Founder, Tony O.
Elumelu.
The Forum will also feature the launch of the TEFConnect, the world’s
largest digital platform for African entrepreneurs, dedicated to
connecting African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, stated: “In just four years, we have
directly impacted 4,460 entrepreneurs, and we are beginning to see the
results – job creation, ripple effects, but most importantly a recognition
that Africa’s economic well-being is driven by entrepreneurs: female and
male, large and small – they are the engine of our continent’s
transformation. We will be championing and celebrating them. This year, we
are truly achieving scale and impact; we received over 150,000
applications in 2017 alone, up from 20,000 applications in 2015. We are
now calling on the current generation of African success stories and
others to partner with us to see how we can all further create impact,
genuinely transform millions of lives and increase the number of inspiring
stories we will be hearing in Lagos”.
TEF CEO, Parminder Vir OBE stated: “The TEF Entrepreneurship Forum is the
only event across the continent that brings together the complete African
entrepreneurship ecosystem, demonstrating our commitment to capturing the
whole continuum – from the entrepreneurs themselves, governments who must
provide enabling environments, to capital, advice and perhaps most
importantly access and network”.
Inspired by Tony Elumelu’s economic philosophy of Africapitalism and his
vision to institutionalise luck and democratise opportunity for a new
generation of African entrepreneurs, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has
implemented one of the most ambitious entrepreneurship programmes
globally.
The Programme is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train,
mentor, and fund 10,000 entrepreneurs. Its goal is to invest in businesses
that will generate at least 1,000,000 new jobs and contribute at least $10
billion in new annual revenues across Africa. In its 4th year, TEF
Entrepreneurship Programme has empowered 4,460 entrepreneurs with a total
investment of USD20million; 4,000 funded directly by the Foundation and
460 have been funded by partners.