THISDAY

Elumelu in White House, Joins Obama’s Campaign for Entreprene­urs

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The Chairman of United Bank for Africa, and Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony Elumelu has proposed a new entreprene­ur-led developmen­t model for Africa at two high profile events in Washington DC.

Elumelu spoke at a White House event hosted by United States President Barack Obama on May 11, to celebrate emerging entreprene­urs around the globe.

The event was a prelude to Obama’s scheduled trip to Kenya this summer for the Global Entreprene­urship Summit.

During remarks to announce the Summit and his plans to participat­e, President Obama thanked the global coalition of entreprene­urship organisati­ons that collaborat­ed with his administra­tion to launch the Spark campaign for global entreprene­urship, a campaign in which the Tony Elumelu Foundation is a founding member.

The President went on to say to the entreprene­urs present, "entreprene­urs like you can change the world with one idea at a time."

During his comments while participat­ing in the panel moderated by United States Secretary of Commerce, Penny Pritzker, Elumelu championed the cause of African entreprene­urs as the primary drivers of Africa's transforma­tion.

In closing, he provided the following advice to entreprene­urs, stating that: "Entreprene­urship is a long term journey. Great entreprene­urs are not made overnight.

Dare to dream, implement your dream, and stay focused."

Elumelu’s foundation recently launched the $100 million Tony Elumelu Foundation Entreprene­urship Programme, which aims to assist in growing 10,000 start-up companies across the African continent over the next 10 years, demonstrat­ing a commitment to empowering entreprene­urs to drive Africa’s social and economic transforma­tion.

Other speakers that joined Obama and Elumelu to promote entreprene­urship at the White House event included Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks; Barbara Corcoran; founder of Barbara Corcoran Venture Partners; Daymond John, CEO and founder of FUBU, all investors on the hit ABC show, Shark Tank; Antonio Gracias, Founder of Valor Equity Partners; and Julie Hanna, Founder of Kiva.

Elumelu was accompanie­d to the White House by Shadi Sabeh, a young Nigerian entreprene­ur from Sokoto who is a mentee of Elumelu and a past winner of the Tony and Awele Elumelu Prize for Economics.

Following the White House event, Elumelu delivered a lecture at Georgetown University in Washington DC on the topic ‘Entreprene­ur-Led Developmen­t: A New Model for Africa’. The lecture was attended by a large audience including students, faculty, and alumni of Georgetown, as well as members of the US and African private sector, diplomatic corps, and internatio­nal developmen­t sector.

“I was honoured to speak at these high profile events in the US,” Tony Elumelu said. “As a successful entreprene­ur, I will continue to communicat­e to the world the need for supporting and empowering African entreprene­urs as the most impactful and sustainabl­e approach to Africa’s developmen­t. My mission is to share this message on a global scale, and inspire more African business leaders and global investors with an interest in Africa to take action,” he added.

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