The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has so far committed $85 million towards empowering African youths.

Founder of TEF, Mr. Tony Elumelu, made the disclosure on Monday in Washington DC at the investment-focused “Innovators Gathering” which preceded the US-Africa Leaders Summit.

About 300 entrepreneurs, investors, and celebrities took part in the investment-focused “Innovators Gathering” with former President Barrack Obama given virtual remarks.

Elumelu said 18,000 young female and male entrepreneurs across the 54 African countries have benefitted from his empowerment project.

Each of the beneficiaries got non-refundable seed capital of $5,000.

Elumelu said: “I am an entrepreneur and I know the transformative power of entrepreneurship. In 2010, we started the Tony Elumelu Foundation – a platform that identifies, supports and trains young, brilliant entrepreneurs. To date, we have disbursed over $85 million to more than 18,000 young female and male entrepreneurs living across the 54 African countries, each with a non-refundable seed capital of $5,000.

“Additionally, we have trained over 1.5 million African entrepreneurs, giving them world-class mentorship and business training. We have delivered effective programmes to female entrepreneurs in fragile states and are now working on our intervention in the green economy.

“We know we can do much more with partnerships. This is why we have convened this summit in collaboration with the U.S. State Department and other US Government agencies, to drive a global coalition, an alliance to catalyse entrepreneurship across our continent.

“In the 21st century, the kind of support that Africa needs is one that moves away from aid and prioritises self-reliance, self-independence and sustainable progress.”

Speaking on the panel, Dr. A.V. Elumelu highlighted the importance of entrepreneurship in building sustainable economies, particularly in Africa’s response to climate change.

She said: “No one will develop our economies but us. I see entrepreneurs playing vital roles in transformative sectors including healthcare, technology and the green economy. We invest in and train entrepreneurs to build sustainability, climate-conscious initiatives into their business models.”

The Star