When 1,000 entrepreneurs came in search of Elumelu’s seeds

The Post-graduate auditorium of Covenant University had indeed played host to large gathering of people on many occasions. But hosting hundreds of people with diverse tongues at the same time was perhaps one of its rarities. Interestingly, when the hall chose to host a convergence of a thousand entrepreneurs from 51 African countries few days […]

The Post-graduate auditorium of Covenant University had indeed played host to large gathering of people on many occasions. But hosting hundreds of people with diverse tongues at the same time was perhaps one of its rarities. Interestingly, when the hall chose to host a convergence of a thousand entrepreneurs from 51 African countries few days ago, it provided the right ambience that made it difficult for anyone to challenge its hosting experiences.

Meeting under the umbrella of Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP 2015), the African entrepreneurs found a right abode within the sprawling auditorium as they could not have desired a better platform to share ideas, network among themselves and even receive inspirations from a number of Africa success stories who acted as resources persons.

Beyond the ambience of the hosting auditorium, was the loaded package the organizers had put in place.

Reputed to be the first largest initiative of its kind to be launched by an African philanthropist, not a few of the participants applauded the training, mentoring as well as networking experiences they tapped into while the three-day event lasted.

“It is arguably one of the best things I have seen in all my existence,” 28-year-old, Anthony Nwajiugo, an entrepreneurial Nigerian lawyer who was a beneficiary, quipped.

Nwajiugo was not alone. Dickson Ayuka, a Kenyan in his 20s said he could not have imagined himself to have been in a better place than TEEP 2015 where he has had “insightful as well as educative training and mentorship capable of transforming my Mkulima feeds”.

In truth, TEEP 2015 could not have offered less. Put together by The Tony Elumelu Foundation, the bootcamp session on Saturday July 11, 2015 was kick-started with David Rice, Director, Africapitalism Institute who took the participants through what makes an Africaptalist Entrepreneur. The term, “africapitalism” itself is an innovative term coined by the TEEP organizers.

Rice had delved extensively as to what defined an Africapitalist entrepreneur, the qualities such individual must possess as well as objectives that must be driving the personality.

Rice inspiring presentation was followed by Adewale Ajadi’s session on: “African Entrepreneurship- a unique perspective”. The crux of Ajadi’s delivery was largely hinged on the need for African entrepreneurs to take their destinies in their own hands, reminding them that the term “modernisation” must not necessarily be defined by “westernization” rather “africanisation”.

Sam Nwanze, Director of Finance and Investment, Heirs Holdings gave a business bite to the discuss when he took the participants on the journey to “Understanding access to finance + alternative Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (SME) financing models”.  He emphasized the need for the entrepreneurs to understand difference sources of finance as well as value creation.

Central to Nwanze’s presentation is the five Cs which he said include: capacity, capital, collateral, conditions and character. According to the financial guru, the five Cs form the basis of success for any entrepreneur especially in the area of funds sourcing, saving and management.

Of remarkable note was also the intervention of Angela Aneke, a Corporate Governance Consultant who came in to fill-in the participants with a number of philosophical traits and beliefs of the Foundation’s founder-Mr Tony Elumelu in what was tagged: the TOE way.

Instructively, the atmosphere within the auditorium became much more enlivened the moment the Master of Ceremony announced the arrival of prominent dignitaries invited to the occasion.

The Chancellor, Covenant University, Ota, Bishop David Oyedepo, Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, the Prime Minister of Benin Republic, Lionel Zinsou, Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo and Founder of TEEP, Mr Tony Elumelu‎ on Saturday. PHOTO BY: Nurudeen Oyewole

The entourage has in it the Nigerian Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the Prime Minister of Benin Republic, Lionel Zinsou, Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, Chancellor, Covenant University, Ota, Bishop David Oyedepo as well as the institution’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Charles Ayo.

The sudden ecstasy that heralded the entry of the entourage was understandable. Aside the fact that each of the personalities in the entourage currently holds influential offices, they were all known to have cut their teeth in their respective fields, a fact that established further, their relevance at such gathering.

That notion was to be strengthened when each of these personalities mounted the rostrum, one after the other, to address the participants.

Kaduna State Governor was the first to take a shot and in his characteristic manner, El-Rufai left no one in doubt of his position on how entrepreneurship should thrive especially in a continent where poverty and unemployment are dictating the pace.

“Africa is a veritable place to develop entrepreneurial businesses because we have large population of youth. But again, we are endangered by this same population if we failed to tap into the potentials it offers. That’s why I’m calling on all of you to start developing your initiatives like Tony Elumelu has done,” El-Rufai said.

The Kaduna State Governor who also delved into his leadership of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) as one that was characterized with different initiatives, one of which led to the revolution in the mobile telecommunication industry.

He was however quick to call on government at all level to create enabling environment for entrepreneurs. He added that government must as a matter of priority invest in human capital development, education and security.

The Kaduna State Governor also disclosed that his government is already engaged in discussion with Mr Tony Elumelu and Bishop David Oyedepo to see to the feasibility of establishing another Covenant University in Kaduna State.

Coming on the trail of El-Rufai was the Prime Minister of Benin Republic, Lionel Zinsou.

For Zinsou, young African Entrepreneurs should start seeing themselves as those who will transform the continent. He asked them to avoid running to offices to seek favour, but stay in their respective fields to command respect.

"It is not for you as entrepreneurs to be going from one office to the other to seek and wait for signatures. We have to reverse the situation. It is for the administrations to reach out to you," ‎Zinsou said.

The Prime Minister who came to office about three weeks ago also asked the beneficiaries of Elumelu Foundation to impact positively on their respective communities. He said the people are like clients who must be accorded respect at all times.

Zinsou also praised ‎Nigeria for its leadership role in Africa, saying the recent successful electoral processes in the country will be replicated‎ in other parts of the continent. He also attested to Nigeria’s economic and agricultural feats, saying there is a greater need for more African countries to collaborate especially in the area of renewable energy.

In his own remark, Vice President Osinbajo, regretted that Africa has always been known as a "dark continent with stories of poverty and unemployment”. He was however quick to add that with efforts from “young entrepreneurs, the world is now seeing Africa as the last frontiers of development.”

‎The Vice President said he is extremely happy that beyond the borders of African Union and ECOWAS, young Africans are already relating and networking among themselves. He however said for the young entrepreneurs to transform Africa, they will need consistency, focus and integrity of purpose.

“I want to charge you, that in your own world‎, you should make the required difference. In your world, be the little Elumelu that will move our continent forward,” Osinbajo said.

The exit of these personalities from the event was all that was required to usher on stage, another set of African known faces.

Tagged: "Q and A panel session with inspiring African Entrepreneurs" the session was anchored by the immediate-past Director General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Arunmah Oteh.

Among Oteh’s discussants were the Nollywood diva, Omotola Jalade-Ekehinde, the Chief Executive Officer of EbonyLife TV, Mosunmola Abudu (Mo Abudu), the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Bank of Industry, Rasheed Olaoluwa as well as Angele Aneke.

Like every other person who had spoken before then, the discussants could only encourage the participants to make Africa the centre-piece of their entrepreneurial efforts.

"As an actress, I am also an entrepreneur even though I also have other businesses. But at the early stage, I have to push aside the stereotype that women who chose to go into acting are prostitutes. You will also need to ‎be dampened with such stereotype in whatever field you choose.

"Also, I have been tempted on many occasions to also make a cross-over to Hollywood. Many people keep asking me the question, and I can tell you that it has always been a difficult one for me because truly the opportunities are there. But I want to be like the Jamaican Reggae state, Bob Marley who stayed in Jamaica and ruled the world. I want to be in Lagos, Nigeria, West Africa and Africa to rule the world.

"If all of us leave, who will develop Africa? So, I’m appealing to you to make Africa the centre-piece of your entrepreneurial focus. Together we can develop Africa," Omotola said.

Perhaps no other moment, in term of interactivity could be said to have appealed more favourably to the audience than the “open Mic session” with Tony Elumelu himself.

Aside offering candid advice to the participants on how they can become successful entrepreneurs, Elumelu also took time out to listen and respond to all questions asked.

The crux of Elumelu’s advice was hinged on the need for the entrepreneurs to be focused on their goals and avoid wasteful spending at the early stage of their lives. He said expending in irrelevant acquisitions is capable of ‎derailing an entrepreneur from his goal.

"You need to cultivate the habit of saving. Ask yourself what you need and save towards it. Learn how to defer some irrelevant acquisition. For those who believe in partnership, bear it in mind that it hardly works in Africa, but you are already into it and then make sure you make it work.

"For everything we do, let’s always be driven by integrity and be concerned about outcomes. When people ask me what I hope to achieve from this gesture, I do tell them that it is my joy is to see young Africans dominating different sectors, creating their own jobs and reducing poverty. We must not be deterred by the difficult environment under which businesses thrive in Africa," Elumelu said.

Elumelu’s lieutenants even asserted that the initiative which is aimed at raising $100 million to discover and support 10,000 African entrepreneurs in the next 10 years, is actually not providing grants for the beneficiaries, rather, the $5,000 being given to each of the participants, are seeds being sown across Africa to raise “a new generation of leaders who are job creators and problem solvers”.

A statement issued by the Foundation in fact read thus: “African entrepreneurs are the life blood of Africa. At Tony Elumelu Foundation, we believe the biggest opportunities in the coming decade will be created by these individual entrepreneurs who have truly brilliant ideas, and exhibit a passion to create innovative and often disruptive solutions to complex challenges across Africa.”

Yet that conviction may not be too difficult to achieve after all.

Already, Elumelu’s aspiration of having a pan-Africa entrepreneurial programme is taking shape at a faster speed.

A total of 20,000 applications across 54 African countries were said to have been submitted, a thousand of which was adjudged to be qualified.

It is also noteworthy that the 19,000 applicants that were not selected by TEEP selecting team have already been incorporated into Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme Network. The selected persons hail from 51 countries and there are signs that such record might soon be surpassed in subsequent editions.

A further breakdown of the successful applicants showed that Nigeria leads with 49 percent. This figure is followed by Kenya which had 16 percent. Uganda on the other hand had four percent; Ghana had 3.6 percent while South Africa had 3.2 percent of the population present.

The foundation’s record also showed that 73 percent of the beneficiaries are male, while 27percent others are female.

The top five sectors applied for by the participants include Agriculture with 30 percent, Education with 9 percent, commercial/retail 9 percent, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 7 percent as well as healthcare that has 5 percent.

In one of his quotable quotes that were popularized during the bootcamp, Elumelu had said: “As a child, as a student, as a young professional and now as an entrepreneur, Africa has always been the centre of my dreams, my aspirations and my prayers.”

From all that had taken place so far, not a few will agree with the fact that Elumelu’s pan-African spirit has indeed been set on the path to actualize those age-long dreams, aspirations and prayers.