Accra, Ghana, July 6, 2018//-Young African entrepreneurs who attended the recent interactive forum with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron in Lagos, Nigeria are poised to change the African narrative to positive one after listening to a dazzling message from the President.
Mr Macron on Wednesday, 4 July, 2018 interacted with over 2,000 alumni of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), including other key members of the African entrepreneurial ecosystem on many issues including entrepreneurship and innovation, access to the European markets, rising protectionism and trade wars, migration and geopolitics.
The youthful French President’s experience of an unknown politician, who burst into the French political landscape to embark on landmark reforms in the country.
The open forum hosted and moderated by TEF Founder and Heirs Holdings and UBA Chairman Tony O. Elumelu, was filled to capacity and his message was unanimously endorsed.
Commenting on the message delivered by Mr Macron, Ms Oluseyi Adebanjo, Senior Project Manager and 2017 TEF’s Entrepreneurship Programme beneficiary told African Eye Report that she was overwhelmed by his message.
“I was taken aback at his level of openness, calm demeanor, simplicity but straight to the point in his more than an hour fruitful interaction with us”, she added.
This encounter with Mr Macron really provides we the young entrepreneurs an unparalleled to do make a difference in our various countries and the whole world, Ms Adebanjo stated.
“His candid and insightful message has also motivated us to give off our best to the community and the society”
Some of the young entrepreneurs who spoke to this publication after the speech and that of Mr Elumelu are confident that they can make it.
With this magnitude of confidence expressed in us regarding our potential, we are energised to become successful businessmen and women in Africa and the world at large, they assured.
Ms Adebanjo and her colleagues once again used the opportunity to thank Mr Elumelu and his Foundation for inviting the French President as part of his recent visit to Nigeria to come and address them.
Encouraging words from Macron
“To young African entrepreneurs: never listen to people who are telling you to wait,” he said. “If you believe in your projects: just do it”, Mr Macron admonished the young African entrepreneurs.
He also advised them not to allow the fear of failure to stop them from taking risk, stressing: “You can’t succeed without taking risk”.
Mr Macron further advised the young entrepreneurs never stop at a first failure but rather urged them to always learn from it.
The French President also encouraged young African entrepreneurs to be focused and determined to achieve their dreams, stressing that the entrepreneurs are of great importance to the sustainable economic development of the continent.
His take on private sector
Touching on private sector, Mr Macron didn’t mince words as he put it : “The only way for Africa to succeed is to have a strong private sector” capable of creating jobs and opportunities for the teeming unemployed youth.
Mr Macron, a former investment banker also acknowledged that the private sector has the solution to some of Africa’s biggest problems.
This statement is in line with what Mr Elumelu has been pushing for in his ‘Africapitalism’ philosophy. Mr Elumelu who propounded the ‘Africapitalism’, the economic philosophy which is predicated on the belief that Africa’s private sector can and must play a leading role in the continent’s development.
On innovation, Mr Macron maintained: ” It is through innovation and disruptions that Africa will arguably be able to lead the way. The two are catalysts to fast economic transformation”.
“Innovation means change. If we don’t embrace it, we risk missing on important change. If Africa doesn’t grow, France, Europe and the rest of the world will hardly achieve its growth targets”, he stated.
African energy
“This is African energy. The one I discovered here in Lagos when I was 23. The one I am glad to see is still thriving several years later. The one I hope many Europeans will get to know. The one that is far from the African prejudice of misery”.
Immigration crisis
Mr Macron told the young African entrepreneurs: “It is time Africa to take up its own responsibilities than leaving them to the outsiders. This is a role that I believe that African business leaders will have to spearhead”.
He continued: “Africa is the one to take responsibility of Africa. Africa should speak for Africa. Africa shouldn’t be lectured on what to do. This is a new narrative that Africans should have”.
“Issues of immigration are an example of the result of having a big number of Africans who are disempowered. If we don’t collectively address this and bring together business leaders to find ways through which Africa can thrive, we are not ever going to thrive”.
Tony Elumelu on transformation
Mr Elumelu noted that entrepreneurship is the lifeblood of Africa’s economic transformation hence the decision of the TEF to set up a $100 million seed fund in 2015 to support young African entrepreneurs.
In 2015, the Foundation launched the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme now known as TEF Entrepreneurship Programme which is the largest African philanthropic initiative devoted to entrepreneurship, carries the foundation’s 10-year, $100 million vision to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs.
The Foundation which targets to create a million jobs, and add $10 billion in revenues to Africa’s economy, has so far trained, mentored and financially supported over 4,500 young African entrepreneurs for the past four years.
Mr Elumelu explained that the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme was inspired by three guiding principles: the inclusive economic philosophy of ‘Africapitalism’, based on the belief that a vibrant African-led private sector is the key to unlocking Africa’s economic and social potential; commitment to drive African economic growth through the empowering of African entrepreneurship; and a mission to ‘institutionalise luck’ by creating an environment where African entrepreneurs can get critical elements of support in the early stages of their business life.
“Africapitalism therefore means we cannot leave the business of development up to our governments, donor countries and philanthropic organizations alone,” he said.
“We in the African private sector must wake up, recognize and embrace our role in driving the economic growth and the social development of Africa, and we must act on that responsibility in tangible ways.”
The Chief Executive Officer of TEF, Madam Parminder Vir OBE stated: “We are proud to have established a unique platform for African entrepreneurs to forge relationships and business partnerships. In doing so, we are creating an ecosystem that fosters innovation and collaboration, on a scale few believed possible.”
Bearing fruits
Some of these young entrepreneur businesses have started bearing early fruits. For instance, The Gambian beneficiary of the programme started with a team of a few people to creating employment for some 146 people at his company, Tropingo Foods, a food processing company which focuses on adding value to the fruits industry.
Momarr Taal turned over $1.6 million in 2015 and currently exports to Asia, Europe, among other places. He chalked this feat through the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme that he managed to make his business dream to come a reality.
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report, back from Lagos, Nigeria
