By Mustapha Sumaila
Abuja – The leaders of three African countries and the President of African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, are expected to participate in the on-going Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum in Abuja.
The Communication and External Relations Department of AfDB on Friday said Rwanda’s President, Mr Paul Kagame, Senegal’s Macky Sall and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo would be expected on Saturday.
Tony Elumelu Foundation was inaugurated in 2010 to unlock the obstacles that Africa’s entrepreneurs face as they grow their start-ups into small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and their SMEs into national growth companies, and their national growth companies into African multinationals.
The bank said the African leaders would be in Abuja to chart a course for the youth on the continent.
“The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum is a global flagship event that has attracted world business leaders and renowned entrepreneurs to the Nigerian political capital, Abuja. This is the fifth edition.
“African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina is participating in a panel discussion at the event alongside Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Senegal’s Macky Sall and Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
“Tony O. Elumelu is an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, who, like Adesina, is passionate about entrepreneurship and Africa’s economic development.
“Since 2015 the foundation has committed 100 million dollars to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs more than 10 years,” it explained.
The bank stated that the entrepreneurship programme aligned with the goals of AfDB, whose Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy aimed to support African countries to create 25 million jobs and empower 50 million young people by 2025.
It quoted Adesina as saying, “we are increasingly working with initiatives that boost entrepreneurship on the continent.
‘The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is one of the key entrepreneurship initiatives on the continent, which the bank seeks to collaborate with.
“The bank’s board approved a facility to boost enterprise support organisations, such as incubators, accelerators, financial institutions, early stage investors and foundations to achieve this vision.”
It said the project had benefited many, including Esther Ayuba, from Nigeria’s Gombe State University, who received ICT training and now able to code and design. (NAN)
