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Elumelu Foundation Holds Bootcamo for 1,000 African Entrepreneurs
As part of Tony Elumelu’s $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, converged near Lagos, Nigeria for an intensive two-day bootcamp session, an unprecedented gathering of emerging African entrepreneurs, from 10-12 July, 2015.
The entrepreneurs travelled from across the continent – from as far as Madagascar and Morocco – and convened in Ota, Nigeria for an entrepreneurship bootcamp made up of interactive sessions with successful entrepreneurs, political and business leaders, and an open mic session with Tony O. Elumelu, founder.
Gambian Badje Modou Lamin, whose business is in the agricultural sector, said, “The bootcamp has been a great experience. I have been able to exchange ideas with a number of entrepreneurs. This has really changed my perspective on Africa.”
Maalainine Mohamed Bouya, from Morocco, said: “The bootcamp has been a blast! Right from our journey from the airport down to the bootcamp, we have been discussing and sharing ideas among ourselves. Africa has huge potential.”
Nigerian Obinna Chukwu, said: “The bootcamp has been a wonderful experience – I have met people from all over Africa. It makes me proud of being a Nigerian. I thank Tony Elumelu and the Tony Elumelu Foundation for making this happen.”
Mr. Elumelu, chairman of Heirs Holdings, spoke on his life experiences and the principles that he learned from mentors, such as Chief Ebitimi Banigo, that he applied towards his own successful entrepreneurship journey. He answered an array of questions during a two-hour question-and-answer session, offering perspective on innovation, strategy, governance, financial management and decision-making.
He said: “Entrepreneurship is not a short-term journey and I am pleased that we can help these emerging leaders, as they seek to join me in transforming Africa. My commitment towards creating a thousand new entrepreneurs who can change Africa forever, has now become a reality. This is only the beginning.”
Vice President of Nigeria Professor Yemi Osinbajo, welcomed the entrepreneurs from across Africa and called on them to take advantage of the networks built in Ota to develop pan African investment and trade networks.
According to Vice President Osinbajo, “This programme deserves all the commendation it is getting. Tony Elumelu has courageously put his money where his mouth is. Societies can’t develop without social entrepreneurs. I charge you to be little Elumelus and create opportunities for others.”
The Vice President was joined by other senior political leaders including Kaduna Governor Nasiru El Rufai, and Lionel Zinsou, the Prime Minister of Benin Republic.
Other speakers included Parminder Vir, OBE, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation; Mo Abudu, Founder/CEO of Ebony Life TV; Nollywood screen icon Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde; Nimi Akinkugbe, CEO, Bestman Games; Rasheed Olaoluwa, CEO of the Bank of Industry; former SEC DG Arunma Oteh; inspirational coach Lanre Olusola; Martin Eigbike, Accenture Development Partnerships; governance expert Angela Aneke; playwright and producer Adewale Ajadi; Sam Nwanze, the Heirs Holdings Director of Finance and Investments; and David Rice, Director of the Africapitalism Institute.
The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs of the TEEP Class of 2015 represent 51 African countries and territories. They cover all of Africa’s geopolitical regions – North, East, Southern, Central and West Africa – and major language blocs – Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Arabic Africa – as well as every state in Nigeria.
They represent a diversity of sectors that range from agriculture to education to energy, fashion and ICT, emphasising Africa’s potential.
In his goodwill message to the visiting Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR wrote, “I am proud that Nigeria (and a Nigerian) is taking the lead in this effort to promote self-worth, encourage entrepreneurship, create jobs, build and promote networks for intra-African trade, business collaboration and investment. Our Administration is committed to unlocking all such opportunities to restore dignity to our people. This programme is one example I hope others will emulate and I commend Tony Elumelu and his Foundation for their endeavor and leadership in this area. “
As he closed the bootcamp, Mr Elumelu challenged all the entrepreneurs by saying, “I want to go to Zambia when I am 80 years old and meet someone who shows me their manufacturing business or financial institution and tells me that it was built starting with $10k from Tony Elumelu. That’s what this is about and that’s what you owe me.”
He added, “The return I want from this $100 million investment is your success, because your success is Africa’s success.”
After the bootcamp, the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme will focus on providing the seed capital and support for the entrepreneurs to put into practice the knowledge gained from the bootcamp and the 12 weeks of training carried out prior to the event.
It will also continue to foster increased collaboration between them and the rest of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Network as it seeks to promote cross-border trade within the continent.
The application portal will re-open on January 1, 2016 for emerging entrepreneurs across Africa to compete for places in the TEEP Class of 2016.
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Afreximbank and Ecobank Join Forces to Boost Trade and Compliance Across Africa
African Export-Import Bank and Ecobank Group have embarked on a collaboration aimed at simplifying trade and compliance for businesses in Africa by integrating Ecobank’s Single Market Trade Hub and Afreximbank’s MANSA Digital Repository Platform.
With the collaboration, African businesses will benefit from seamless shared services across the two platforms, with users of the Single Market Trade Hub able to easily leverage MANSA’s comprehensive database for efficient know-thy-customer (KYC) and customer due diligence (CDD) checks while MANSA platform users would, in turn, be able to directly connect to the Single Market Trade Hub to explore trade opportunities to expand their businesses across Africa.
The Ecobank Single Market Trade Hub connects registered businesses across Africa on a single platform, helping them benefit from opportunities in the unified market of 1.4 billion people created by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA).
It serves as a one-stop repository for the AfCFTA by providing small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) and corporates with insights about the agreement while its online match-making feature enables importers and exporters to upload their profiles and showcase goods and services they offer, or wish to source, with the aim of finding partners within Africa.
Once a match is found, connections are made via the platform and the transaction can be concluded leveraging on Ecobank’s trade and payment solutions in 35 African markets.
The MANSA Digital Repository Platform, or MANSA, is a one-stop-shop for due diligence matters on all African entities. As a centralised digital repository, MANSA seeks to eliminate information asymmetry and to increase intra-African trade and trade with the rest of the world.
It drives and promotes good governance culture among African SMEs and creates visibility for their businesses while also supporting African entities to expand, diversify and add value to their export products at both the local and international levels. Entities onboarded unto MANSA are allotted an Africa Entity Identifier (AEI) code which enables them to leverage other Afreximbank products and initiatives.
MANSA is also a key digital solution at the Africa Trade Gateway (ATG) marketplace which houses a suite of digital platforms designed as a single window to enable Afreximbank better deliver on its mandate, providing critical services to support and promote intra-African trade and the implementation of the AfCFTA. The platform enables African entities to accelerate their business activities at the ATG marketplace by working with verified information on trusted counterparties.
The new collaboration is, therefore, enabling Ecobank and Afreximbank to provide a central solution to the key challenge of KYC compliance and access to business across 35 countries in Africa. The improved interoperability is expected to further streamline cross-border trade and compliance in Africa, fostering greater financial and economic integration on the continent.
Afreximbank is a pan-African multilateral financial institution established to finance and promote intra- and extra-African trade.
Ecobank Group is a leading private pan-African banking group with unrivalled African expertise.
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Leadway Assurance Pledges Transformative Role to SMEs
Leadway Assurance said it has chosen to go beyond risk underwriting to play the role of transformative partner for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
The underwriting firm played this role by empowering SMEs with practical strategies on how to navigate risks inherent in Yuletide season.
Leadway recently organized a webinar session for SMEs titled, “Driving Increased Sales During the Festive Season.”
Speaking on the reason for the session, the underwriting firm said it realized that as momentum into the 2024 festive season continued, businesses, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), face paradoxical realities of increased sales opportunities and consequent cocktails of business risks.
It said recognising the fact that with consumer spending and holiday making increasing businesses for SMEs, there were the possibilities of risk from these spikes in commercial activities such as – theft, accidents, burglaries, fire outbreaks, frauds, and system failures.
Against this backdrop Leadway said it has reaffirmed its position as a transformative partner to SMEs by empowering businesses with practical strategies for navigating the complexities of the season.
“This aligns with the brand’s mission to deliver robust risk management and business solutions to bolster economic growth, Head of the Retail Division at Leadway, Umashime Oguzor-Doghro said.
As connected to insurance, Oguzor-Doghro said: “Insurance was often seen as a reactive tool, but at Leadway, we position it as a strategic asset. With our competitive risk management solutions—spanning property, transit, and employee coverage, we enable businesses to operate with confidence, knowing they are protected from the unforeseen.
What sets us apart is our free advisory service, which ensures businesses are fully equipped before they even take up our insurance products.” he added.
In addition to risk management, Oguzor- Doghro said the webinar championed collaboration as a catalyst for success, adding that Leadway’s partnerships with event managers and SME stakeholders aim to ensure seamless operations during the festive season, reinforcing the company’s role as more than just an insurer but a reliable business ally.
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Mastercard, MTN, and Arifu Launch Digital Skills Program for African Small Businesses
Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, MTN Group Fintech and Arifu have partnered to support about one million small businesses in Cote’ D’Ivoire and Uganda, to digitize their operations, increase the use of digital financial services and access digital marketplaces through the MoMo Coach chatbot.
This program, part of the Center’s global Mastercard Strive initiative, aims to enhance the resilience and growth of small businesses by providing essential digital skills. It is one of the ways Mastercard Strive has disseminated chatbot-ready business building content for small businesses in the region, which is currently also available in Kenya and Nigeria.
Small businesses in sub-Saharan Africa, especially those impacted by the pandemic, have faced significant barriers in adopting digital tools. As of December 2022, only 27.65% of businesses in sub-Saharan Africa had adopted digital tools to enhance their efficiency, showing a slight improvement from 19.44% in August 2020. A lack of relevant skills continues to limit their growth and access to essential financial services. MoMo Coach addresses these gaps by providing free, accessible upskilling content via popular messaging platforms.
Supported by the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and delivered by Caribou Digital, this program equips small businesses with digital skills, enabling them to adopt digital tools, access capital, and engage more effectively in digital marketplaces. The program aligns with Mastercard Strive’s broader goal of reaching 18 million small businesses around the world to go digital, get capital, and access networks and know-how.
“Small businesses are vital to Africa’s growth and create opportunities for a more resilient and inclusive regional economy. We are delighted to catalyze a partnership between MTN Group Fintech and Arifu to equip almost one million small business owners with the digital skills and knowledge essential for thriving in an increasingly digital economy, setting them up for success.” said Subhashini Chandran, Senior Vice President of Social Impact for Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa
The MoMo Coach solution, powered by Arifu’s Grasp Platform, uses mobile messaging to deliver micro-learning experiences. It is accessible across multiple channels, including WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook Messenger, SMS and MoMo. This gives small business owners and entrepreneurs flexibility in accessing practical, actionable tips to unlock growth opportunities in the digital economy.
Serigne Dioum, CEO of MTN Group Fintech, further adds: “Empowering small businesses with digital skills is key to driving inclusive growth in Africa. Through MoMo Coach, we are unlocking opportunities for entrepreneurs to thrive in the digital economy, strengthening communities, and shaping the future of business across the continent.”
The program has been rolled out in Côte d’Ivoire and Uganda, reaching over 930,000 MTN customers, merchants, and agents, with more than 75,000 small business owners accessing free digital courses and over 45,000 actively engaging with MoMo Coach. Courses offered include “How to Start Your Business,” “Money Management,” and “Grow and Secure Your Business.” These courses are based on insights derived from MoMo merchants and agents, and they address key challenges like affordability and access to relevant business knowledge—enabling small business owners to navigate the digital landscape.
Aminata, a 31-year-old business owner from Gôh-Djiboua, Côte d’Ivoire, is one of the many beneficiaries of MoMo Coach. Selling shoes and clothing since 2022, she says: “There’s a lot of competition, but MoMo Coach helps me sell better. Before, I used all my profits to buy new stock, which left me using my capital for expenses. Now, I split my profits: one part for business growth, another for expenses, and some savings for other projects.” She has also started using WhatsApp to increase her sales, noting: “My income has increased. When I post my goods, I sell more.”
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