Stories by Providence Obuh

To address unemployment, there is a need to increase the number of entrepreneurs in the country via vocation in different skills thereby enhancing employment and increasing economic value especially among the youths.

Just last week, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) announced the selection of 1,000 entrepreneurs for the second round of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP).

TEEP was launched in 2015 as the largest African philanthropic initiative devoted to entrepreneurship and represents a 10-year, $100 million commitment, to identify and empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs, create a million jobs and add $10 billion in revenues to Africa’s economy.

For 2016, over 45,000 entrepreneurs from 54 African countries applied, more than doubling the number of applications received in 2015.

Meanwhile, successful candidates represent diverse industries, led by agriculture, ICT and fashion, while, the highest numbers of applicants came from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon. All five regions – North, East, Southern, Central and West Africa are represented.

In his remark, Founder, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said, “In TEEP’s first year we spent over $8 million of our $100 million commitment with $5 million going directly to entrepreneurs as seed capital and the results have far exceeded our expectations. We have funded entrepreneurs, established networks and helped extraordinary people take control of their destinies. The 2016 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs will become a generation of newly empowered African business owners, who are the clearest evidence yet, that indigenous business growth will drive Africa’s economic and social transformation.”

Consequent to this, one million young people in Nigeria may soon become employers of labour if the initiative being proposed to the Bank of Industry by the Chairman of Afterschool Graduate Development Centre (AGDC), Mrs Ibukun Awosika sees the light of day.

She approached the BoI seeking a partnership, aimed at scaling up financial inclusion of Nigeria’s youths.

Awosika in a meeting with the Executive Management Committee of the BoI said that the initiative, “ignite idea” hopes to raise a million young entrepreneurs who will provide jobs as well as create value.

She said that the initiative becomes imperative because those without jobs need to be saved in their numbers.