This archive report was first published on 5 August 2019.
Kenyans among entrepreneurs to get funding, training under Elumelu plan ¶
On August 5, 2019, the Tony Elumelu Foundation announced that it had selected 3,050 entrepreneurs from 54 African countries to receive $5,000 in seed capital and training.
Among the beneficiaries were 113 Kenyans, who will join their counterparts from other African countries in receiving the funding and training.
The entrepreneurs were selected from a pool of 216,000 applications, with 10,170 making it to the evaluation stage.
The foundation, which was established by Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu in 2015, aims to invest in young people on the African continent and spur economic growth.
Startups in the agriculture sector benefited the most from the funding, with 26.4 percent of the beneficiaries coming from this sector.
Other sectors that benefited from the funding include fashion, retail, and healthcare, with 13.6 percent, 9.1 percent, and 3.8 percent of the beneficiaries respectively.
Speaking at the forum, Tony Elumelu urged other private sector players to take an active role in empowering entrepreneurs to eradicate poverty and create more opportunities for young people.
“Extremism is a product of poverty and joblessness. Poverty anywhere is a threat to everyone everywhere,” Elumelu said.
He also urged governments to put in place policies that would increase partnerships with the private sector to solve problems such as unemployment that the continent faces.
President of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina, echoed Elumelu's sentiments, urging African governments to shift from youth empowerment to youth investment.
“African governments should shift from youth empowerment to youth investment. Lenders should start seeing young people as an asset and not a liability,” Adesina said.
