As part of Tony Elumelu\u2019s $100 million commitment to empowering African
\nentrepreneurs, 1,000 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs, representing 51 African
\ncountries from the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) Class of
\n2015, converged near Lagos, Nigeria for an intensive two-day bootcamp
\nsession, an unprecedented gathering of emerging African entrepreneurs,
\nfrom 10-12 July, 2015.<\/p>\n
The entrepreneurs travelled from across the continent \u2013 from as far as
\nMadagascar and Morocco \u2013 and convened in Ota, Nigeria for an
\nentrepreneurship bootcamp made up of interactive sessions with successful
\nentrepreneurs, political and business leaders, and an open mic session
\nwith the Founder, Tony O. Elumelu CON.<\/p>\n
Gambian Badje Modou Lamin, whose business is in the agricultural sector,
\nsaid, \u201cThe bootcamp has been a great experience. I have been able to
\nexchange ideas with a number of entrepreneurs. This has really changed my
\nperspective on Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maalainine Mohamed Bouya, from Morocco, said: \u201cThe bootcamp has been a
\nblast! Right from our journey from the airport down to the bootcamp, we
\nhave been discussing and sharing ideas among ourselves. Africa has huge
\npotential.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nigerian Obinna Chukwu, said: \u201cThe bootcamp has been a wonderful
\nexperience \u2013 I have met people from all over Africa. It makes me proud of
\nbeing a Nigerian. I thank Tony Elumelu and the Tony Elumelu Foundation for
\nmaking this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr. Elumelu, the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, spoke on his life experiences
\nand the principles that he learned from mentors, such as Chief Ebitimi
\nBanigo, that he applied towards his own successful entrepreneurship
\njourney.\u00a0 He answered an array of questions during a two-hour
\nquestion-and-answer session, offering perspective on innovation, strategy,
\ngovernance, financial management and decision-making.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cEntrepreneurship is not a short-term journey and I am pleased
\nthat we can help these emerging leaders, as they seek to join me in
\ntransforming Africa. My commitment towards creating a thousand new
\nentrepreneurs who can change Africa forever, has now become a reality.
\nThis is only the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vice President of Nigeria Professor Yemi Osinbajo, GCON, welcomed the
\nentrepreneurs from across Africa and called on them to take advantage of
\nthe networks built in Ota to develop pan African investment and trade
\nnetworks.\u00a0 According to Vice President Osinbajo, \u201cThis programme deserves
\nall the commendation it is getting. Tony Elumelu has courageously put his
\nmoney where his mouth is. Societies can\u2019t develop without social
\nentrepreneurs. I charge you to be little Elumelus and create opportunities
\nfor others.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Vice President was joined by other senior political leaders including
\nKaduna Governor Nasiru El Rufai, and Lionel Zinsou, the Prime Minister of
\nBenin Republic.<\/p>\n
Other speakers included Parminder Vir, OBE, CEO of the Tony Elumelu
\nFoundation; Mo Abudu, Founder\/CEO of Ebony Life TV;\u00a0 Nollywood screen icon
\nOmotola Jalade-Ekeinde;\u00a0 Nimi Akinkugbe, CEO, Bestman Games; Rasheed
\nOlaoluwa, CEO of the Bank of Industry; former SEC DG Arunma Oteh;
\ninspirational coach Lanre Olusola; Martin Eigbike, Accenture Development
\nPartnerships;\u00a0 governance expert Angela Aneke; playwright and producer
\nAdewale Ajadi; Sam Nwanze, the Heirs Holdings Director of Finance and
\nInvestments; and David Rice, Director of the Africapitalism Institute.<\/p>\n
The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs of the TEEP Class of 2015 represent 51
\nAfrican countries and territories.\u00a0 They cover all of Africa\u2019s
\ngeopolitical regions – North, East, Southern, Central and West Africa \u2013
\nand major language blocs \u2013 Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Arabic
\nAfrica – as well as every state in Nigeria. They represent a diversity of
\nsectors that range from agriculture to education to energy, fashion and
\nICT, emphasising Africa’s potential.<\/p>\n
In his goodwill message to the visiting Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs,
\nNigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR wrote, “I am proud that Nigeria
\n(and a Nigerian) is taking the lead in this effort to promote self-worth,
\nencourage entrepreneurship, create jobs, build and promote networks for
\nintra-African trade, business collaboration and investment.\u00a0 Our
\nAdministration is committed to unlocking all such opportunities to restore
\ndignity to our people. This programme is one example I hope others will
\nemulate and I commend Tony Elumelu and his Foundation for their endeavor
\nand leadership in this area. ”<\/p>\n
As he closed the bootcamp, Mr Elumelu challenged all the entrepreneurs by
\nsaying, “I want to go to Zambia when I am 80 years old and meet someone
\nwho shows me their manufacturing business or financial institution and
\ntells me that it was built starting with $10k from Tony Elumelu.\u00a0 That’s
\nwhat this is about and that’s what you owe me.”\u00a0 He added, “The return I
\nwant from this $100 million investment is your success, because your
\nsuccess is Africa’s success.”<\/p>\n
After the bootcamp, the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme will focus
\non providing the seed capital and support for the entrepreneurs to put
\ninto practice the knowledge gained from the bootcamp and the 12 weeks of
\ntraining carried out prior to the event. It will also continue to foster
\nincreased collaboration between them and the rest of the Tony Elumelu
\nEntrepreneurship Network as it seeks to promote cross-border trade within
\nthe continent.\u00a0 The application portal will re-open on January 1, 2016 for
\nemerging entrepreneurs across Africa to compete for places in the TEEP
\nClass of 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As part of Tony Elumelu\u2019s $100 million commitment to empowering African entrepreneurs, 1,000 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs, representing 51 African countries from the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) Class of 2015,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40330,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n