The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Africa’s largest philanthropy
focused on supporting entrepreneurship, today announced that the 3rd
annual TEF Entrepreneurship Forum – the most inclusive gathering of
African SMEs – will take place on October 13-14 in Lagos.
This is the first year the invitation-only Forum is open to non-TEF
entrepreneurs and will allow SMEs from across Africa to attend and form
networks, share knowledge, connect with investors, link with corporate
supply chains and influence policymakers and business leaders in
attendance.
“Since launching the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme – and committing
$100 million to empowering 10,000 African entrepreneurs in a decade – we
have unleashed our continent’s most potent development force – its
entrepreneurs,” said TEF Founder Tony O. Elumelu, CON. “In just 3 years,
our 3,000 entrepreneurs have created tens of thousands of jobs and
generated considerable wealth. On October 13 and 14, we invite the
global entrepreneurship community to Lagos toward the realization of a
New Africa, a thriving, self-reliant continent capable of replicating
the results we have seen in our ground-breaking programme.”
The two-day event features plenary panels, masterclasses, and
sector-specific networking opportunities, as well as policy-led talks,
focused on improving the enabling environment for African businesses.
TEF Chief Executive Officer Parminder Vir OBE said: “This is the
first year we have opened the Forum up to include not just the 1,000
Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs from the 2017 cycle of our Programme, but the
full pan-African entrepreneurship ecosystem. In doing so, we are
allowing disparate SME communities to come together and expand the
possibilities for intra-African partnerships. I urge policymakers and
investors to join us at the Forum as we empower the next generation of
African business titans.”
Speakers at the event include Wale Ayeni, International Finance
Corporation; Stephen Tio Kauma, Afrexim Bank; Andre Hue, African
Development Bank; Stephen M. Haykin, USAID Nigeria; Heikke Reugger,
European Investment Bank; Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, United Nations
Development Programme.
The Foundation’s long-term investment in empowering African
entrepreneurs is emblematic of Tony Elumelu’s philosophy of
Africapitalism, which positions Africa’s private sector, and most
importantly its entrepreneurs, as the catalysts for the social and
economic development of the continent.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation is funded by the Pan-African proprietary
investment company, Heirs Holdings Group, and shares the principle of Africapitalism with its sponsor and founder.
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