Africa’s inability at attaining sustainable economic progress has for long constitutes major impediments and challenges to the growth, development and complete transformation of the continent.
It is evidently clear that Africa’s poor investment capital is traceable to its leadership crises both at the economic and political front, hence the persistent woes and miseries of millions of its youthful inhabitants.
That the continent of Africa is unarguably the most endowed in natural resources leaves no one in doubt as to why it is the most sought-after for complete global transformation. The need to therefore liberate Africa from the shackles of poverty and economic deprivation has led to the formation of several initiatives and programmes at enhancing productivity of millions of Africa’s inhabitants especially the youths, hence the establishment of THE TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION(TEF). Founded by the renowned Nigerian born Economists and former Banker, MR. TONY ONYEAMACHI ELUMELU, CON, MFR. The Foundation no doubt remains Africa’s finest and most innovative and entrepreneurial support programme of all time.
Tony Elumelu’s Exploits:
Mr. Elumelu started his banking career with a commercial Bank at the time he had just completed his degree in Economics from the University of Lagos, when he saw a job advert by the Bank. He applied without requisite qualification and wrote on his cover letter as follows:
“I know I may not have met the qualifying criteria for the advertised roles, but I am intelligent, driven, and ambitious and I will make the Bank proud. My 2:2 degree does not demonstrate the full extent of my intelligence and ability and I know I can do much more”.
He was eventually shortlisted and hired by the Bank as an entry-level analyst and later became the youngest branch Manager at age 27, a feat attributable to his tenacity and hard work.
He is also known to have founded one of Nigeria’s largest financial services group, United Bank for Africa (UBA) with millions of global customers after leading a small group of investors in 1997 to takeover a struggling commercial bank in Lagos, turned its fortunes and merged it with the United Bank for Africa. Today, UBA is known to have many of its branches across Africa, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
Mr. Tony Elumelu is an African Investor and philanthropist, the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, a family owned Investment Company committed to improving lives and transforming Africa. Heirs Holdings, Portfolio spans the power, oil and gas, financial services, hospitality, real estate and healthcare sectors, operating in twenty-three countries worldwide.
He is the Chairman of Pan-African Financial services group, the United Bank for Africa (UBA), the Banker Magazine’s African Bank of the year. UBA is present in 20 African countries including Paris, London and New York. He also chairs Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate, whose subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, one of the largest generators of electricity in Nigeria and transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s Foremost Hospitality brand. Mr. Elumelu is the most prominent champion of entrepreneurship in Africa and the foundation’s mission is inspired by his Economic philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the continent.
Mr. Elumelu sits on numerous public and social sector boards, including USAID’S Private Capital Group Partners Forum, and is a Co-Chair of the Aspen Institute’s Global Food Security working group. He also serves on the International Advisory Board of the Washington DC based think tank. The Wilson Centre, and is a member of the Global Advisory Council of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Centre for Public Leadership and also a member of the World Economic Forum Community of Chairman.
In 2020, Mr. Elumelu was recognized as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF): The Journey So Far
Founded in year, 2010 and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria and a Pioneer member of Global Impact Investment Rating System, (GIIRS) which has so far empowered about 15,847 African entrepreneurs with non-returnable seed capital of $5,000 each for twelve weeks of business management training and access to experienced mentors, thus helping African entrepreneurs realise their potentials.
TEF is also a member of Africa’s largest entrepreneur’s ecosystem and the activities of the Foundation no doubt have continued to fast track Africa’s development into a force of global reckoning. This enormous task of capacity building by the TEF through deployment of private capital has continued to place it at the forefront of human capital development and a reference point for entrepreneurial support in Africa, supporting young entrepreneurs and responsible managers of the continent’s vast material resources, which is imperative at ensuring a formidable human capital development, capable of tackling the continent’s economic challenges for the enhancement of its global competitiveness.
The Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme:
TEF committed the sum of 100 Million U.S Dollars to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries over 10 years.
Building on the programmes’s success and its unique ability to identify, train, mentor and fund entrepreneurs across Africa, the foundation is increasingly sharing its robust delivery platform and working in partnership with institutions such as United Nations Development programme UNDP, the African Development Bank, and the International Committee on the Red Cross. GIZ, and United Bank for Africa Plc, to create meaningful and permanent impact across Africa.
The entrepreneurship programmes was built on a holistic system which is the unique 7 pillar framework, designed especially for the African continent to provide effective and intensive support for entrepreneurs
Translating its Mission into Practice:
The Tony Elemelu Foundation forged a new partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to train, mentor and fund 100,000 young entrepreneurs across Africa in 10 years. The partnership reaches the undeserved and the vulnerable with a focus on Sahel regions in its first year, scaling the commitment of the Foundation ten-fold. In 2019, the Tony Elumelu foundation rolled out the first phase of the Programme in 7 Sahel countries, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Mauritania, Mali and Burkina Faso, targeting same of the most vulnerable countries and communities on the continent.
The Programme focused its intervention on rural communities. Two methods of training were offered: Online through TEF Connect with over a 6-week period and in physical locations, where Programme Managers deliver intensive business training in 4 days.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Africa’s leading philanthropic organisation, has successfully trained over 200,000 entrepreneurs, business management skill. The business management training conducted exclusively on TEFConnect, the Foundation’s propriety digital platform provides capacity-building support, advisory and market linkages to over 1 Million Africans.
The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme has a unique curriculum that encompasses topics on Starting your business, Business management’s 7 Fundamentals, Leadership & Business Growth, Selecting and Building a team, amongst others, entrepreneurs are effectively armed to achieve business growth, profitability, and sustained success.
Entrepreneurs are often engaged on weekly information sessions, as part of the training, to address relevant concerns and share vital programme updates. All entrepreneurs receive active support from oaches and mentors who provided technical guidance, counsel and one-on- one interaction throughout the duration of the training programme. The training which is one element of the 7 pillars of the TEF Entrepreneurship programme, is carried on the official African languages including English, French, Portuguese and Arabic, and over 40 percent of trained participates are usually women.
Ms Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, the Chief Executive Officer The Tony Elumelu Foundation says “every year, our commitment to transform Africa is further strengthened with the passion, resilience and talent of the high-caliber entrepreneurs who are onboard our flagship programme. Our curricular provides a holistic opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn, grow and contribute to the development of their
nd readiness of African entrepreneurs across all of Africa to make themselves available to transform the continent for good. I would like to commend these entrepreneurs for their discipline, dedication and hard work throughout the training and look forward to the immense impact of their businesses across diverse sectors in Africa. We remain committed to empowering African entrepreneurs with the required resources and support that will ensure that their business can scale and drive sustainable change on the continent”.
The TEF Entrepreneurship Training is immediately followed by a business plan review process for each entrepreneur. The top performing entrepreneurs subsequently participate in the Pitching phase of the programme after which successful entrepreneurs receive a non-returnable seed capital of U$$5000 each, the leading African philanthropy also hopes to train and empower thousands more across the African continent as part of its commitment at propelling economic growth, eradicate poverty and ensure job creation.
In 2020, the Tony Elumelu Foundation marked ten years of impact, having empowered and funded nearly 10,000 African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries as part of its U$$100million, Entrepreneurship programme.
A Survey of Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF): Across Africa
TEF has continued to make appreciable impact in the lives of emerging African Entrepreneurs as attested by beneficiaries as follows:-
Angele Messa from Cameroun developed the country’s largest job search engine
In 2018 she was able to make impact in Cameroun’s educational system, following a crisis in the country, which led to closure of schools in the two English speaking regions of the country. This however motivated her into creating EduclickAfrica, a platform