<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Washington, DC. African businessman and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu
\nhas proposed a new entrepreneur-led development model for Africa at two
\nhigh profile events in Washington DC.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr. Elumelu, who is Chairman of United Bank for Africa, and Founder, the
\nTony Elumelu Foundation, spoke at a White House event hosted by United
\nStates President Barack Obama on May 11 to celebrate emerging
\nentrepreneurs around the globe. The event was a prelude to Obama\u2019s
\nscheduled trip to Kenya this summer for the Global Entrepreneurship
\nSummit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
During remarks to announce the Summit and his plans to participate,
\nPresident Obama thanked the global coalition of entrepreneurship
\norganizations that collaborated with his administration to launch the
\nSpark campaign for global entrepreneurship, a campaign in which the Tony
\nElumelu Foundation is a founding member. The President went on to say to
\nthe entrepreneurs present, “Entrepreneurship empowers people to no longer
\nbe subject to aid agencies, but to be part of something to pursue their
\ndreams. Entrepreneurs like you can change the world one idea at a time.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
During his comments at the White House event while participating on a
\npanel moderated by United States Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, Mr
\nElumelu championed the cause of African entrepreneurs as the primary
\ndrivers of Africa’s transformation. In closing, Mr Elumelu provided the
\nfollowing advice to global entrepreneurs, “Entrepreneurship is a long term
\njourney. Great entrepreneurs are not made overnight. Dare to dream,
\nimplement your dream, and stay focused.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Elumelu\u2019s foundation recently launched the $100 million Tony Elumelu
\nFoundation Entrepreneurship Programme, which aims to assist in growing
\n10,000 start-up companies across the African continent over the next 10
\nyears -\u00af demonstrating a commitment to empowering entrepreneurs to drive
\nAfrica\u2019s social and economic transformation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Other speakers that joined Obama and Elumelu to promote entrepreneurship
\nat the White House event included Mark Cuban, Owner of the Dallas
\nMavericks; Barbara Corcoran; Founder of Barbara Corcoran Venture Partners;
\nDaymond John, CEO and founder of FUBU \u2014 all investors on the hit ABC show
\nShark Tank; Antonio Gracias, Founder of Valor Equity Partners; and Julie
\nHanna, Founder of Kiva.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Accompanying Mr Elumelu to the White House was Shadi Sabeh, a young
\nNigerian entrepreneur from Sokoto State who is a mentee of Mr Elumelu and
\na past winner of the Tony and Awele Elumelu Prize for Economics from Usman
\nDan Fodiyo University.<\/p>\n
Following on the White House event, Mr. Elumelu delivered a lecture at
\nGeorgetown University in Washington DC on May 12 on the topic
\n\u2018Entrepreneur-Led Development: A New Model for Africa\u2019. The lecture was
\nattended by a large audience including students, faculty, and alumni of
\nGeorgetown, as well as members of the US and African private sector,
\ndiplomatic core, and international development sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was honoured to speak at these high profile events in the US,\u201d Tony
\nElumelu said. \u201cAs a successful entrepreneur, I will continue to
\ncommunicate to the world the need for supporting and empowering African
\nentrepreneurs as the most impactful and sustainable approach to Africa\u2019s
\ndevelopment. My mission is to share this message on a global scale, and
\ninspire more African business leaders and global investors with an
\ninterest in Africa to take action.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Washington, DC. African businessman and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu has proposed a new entrepreneur-led development model for Africa at two high profile events in Washington DC. Mr.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38576","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n