Buhari congratulates Tony Elumelu at 55

Olalekan Adetayo, Abuja

President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday congratulated the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Mr. Tony Elumelu, on his 55th birthday holding on Thursday (today).

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists.

Adesina said the President joined the United Bank of Africa, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the Elumelu family and all his professional colleagues to rejoice with him.

Buhari noted that Elumelu’s pace-setting antecedents had continued to inspire both the young and old on the power of ideas, big dreams and hard work.

The President commended Elumelu’s diligence, versatility and selflessness in championing the economic philosophy of “Africapitalism,” which “calls to action the need to grow businesses that cater for African interests, support governments and bottom-up development within the continent, by discouraging long term dependence on donor countries and philanthropic organisations.”

The statement added, “As Elumelu turns 55 years, President Buhari believes the entrepreneur’s greatest investment has been in the development of people and communities, clearly evident in the Tony Elumelu Foundation which started with scholarships and fellowships, and now trains a new generation of business leaders across the continent.

“President Buhari prays that the almighty God will grant Elumelu longer life, more ideas and renewed vigour to pursue his dream of making life better for others.” Copyright PUNCH.
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The Tony Elumelu Foundation has released the list of  1,000 successful applicants for its 2018 entrepreneurship programme.

Shortlisted from more than 150,000 applicants from 114 countries worldwide, the selected applicants are tagged African entrepreneurs “with the most innovative, high-potential business ideas.”

While commenting on the final selection, Tony Elumelu, the founder, said: “The number and quality of applicants, 151,000 ‎ in total, was outstanding. It illustrates the strength and depth of entrepreneurial promise and commitment on our continent. Selection is never easy, and we profoundly regret that we cannot help all.

“Our partnerships with the Red Cross, UNDP and Indorama, alongside ongoing discussions with other international organizations, reflect the growing global recognition of what we have known all along – that entrepreneurship is the most effective path to sustainable development on our continent and our Programme is the model to follow.

“There was a near 50-50 split between male and female applications, ‎reflecting the entrepreneurial ambition of Africa’s women. Agriculture was the leading sector among selected entrepreneurs at 30.5%, followed by technology (10.5%) and Education and training (9%).”

Parminder Obe, TEF CEO, said: “Over the next nine months, the entrepreneurs will receive online training and mentoring, and will use the skills acquired to develop business plans prior to receiving $5,000 in seed capital. This will bring TEF’s total programme investment so far to $15 million in direct funding to entrepreneurs and $5.8 million in Programme and technology development and operations.

“Our beneficiaries have created more than 55,000 jobs and counting, and will convene from across all of Africa’s 54 countries to Lagos this October for the TEF Forum – the largest gathering of African entrepreneurs in the world.‎”

The 2018 cohort includes an additional 250 entrepreneurs to the standard selection of 1,000.

This was made possible with $1,000,000 partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to support 200 entrepreneurs in conflict and fragile zones of Nigeria, especially the north-east where the Boko Haram scourge is felt and the Niger Delta region which suffers environmental degradation from oil spillage.

There is also a $200,000 agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support 40 pan-African entrepreneurs and a $50,000 partnership with Indorama to support 10 Nigerians.

The selected applicants are advised to check their names on TEF website