Tony Elumelu Foundation has brought together leading stakeholders in the development finance sector, at a case study session in the European Union (EU) capital, Belgium.
The session was themed: “A Convening on Africa’s Economic Transformation: A Case Study of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.”
The event presented the results of the first five years of Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme which has trained, mentored and seeded 4,470 African entrepreneurs with 3,050 newly announced to receive seed funding, and drawn over 200,000 applications to its 2019 cycle.
At the start of the event, Deputy Director General, DEVCO (EU), Koen Doens, said: “Africa needs to create jobs by the millions to match the needs of its exponentially growing population. It will achieve this only if it unleashes a generation of empowered entrepreneurs. The Tony Elumelu Foundation contributes to this massively. The European Union wants to play its part and contribute to this endeavour.”
During an in-depth question and answer session with EU-Africa relations expert, Annie Mutamba, Mr Elumelu highlighted the growing interest in the Foundation and its unique approach, while welcoming a new type of intervention in Africa.
He said: “We very much believe in collaboration, mutual respect and a shared commitment to transform Africa. Africa is ready but we need to do this through the right sustainable manner that enables our people to become self-reliant, and independent, instead of perpetuating dependency. We need to implement practical solutions on ground through entrepreneurship, which empower people economically and addresses issues of extremism, migration, and insecurity.”
Belgium’s Minister for Digital Agenda, Telecommunications and Post, Phillippe De Backer, said: “There is an increasing desire in Europe to engage Africa, including its grassroots in a structure and targeted approach with the right processes. The Tony Elumelu Foundation offers this platform.”
Also present at the event were: Director, European Centre for Development Policy Management (ECDPM), Carl Michiels; former CEO/Chairman at DEG-German Investment and Development Company, and Advisory Board Member, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Bruno Wenn.
Others were Assistant Secretary General, African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) at the European Council, Viwanou Gnanssougou; and CEO of Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu.
