The Tony Elumelu Foundation

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is an African non-profit organization founded in 2010 by Tony O. Elumelu and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria, based on his belief that, with the right support, entrepreneurs can be empowered to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s prosperity and social development.[1] The Foundation is intent on charting a new course for African philanthropy and does not operate merely as a grant-awarding organisation. It is a pioneer member of the Global Impact Investment Rating System (GIIRS).

Origin

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) was founded in 2010 by Nigerian businessman, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, and positioned as a 21st-century catalytic philanthropy. As a primary driver of Africapitalism, the Foundation is committed to the economic transformation of Africa by enhancing the competitiveness and growth of the African private sector, through a push for entrepreneurship.

Aims

The Foundation aims to promote excellence in business leadership and entrepreneurship across Africa .[2] One of its driving aspirations is the improvement of the competitiveness of African economies.

Program Priorities

TEF’s activities revolve around
(a) Developing the next generation of business leaders for Africa
(b) Building the networks and developing the framework for enhancing the competitiveness of African economies
(c) Identifying impact investing opportunities.

The foundation has set itself apart from grant making, by operationalizing various integrated programmes to support entrepreneurship in Africa and enhancing the competitiveness of the African private sector. TEF has built a reputation for successfully implementing diverse programmes to achieve this, including:

Philosophy

Leadership

The Foundation is led by Parminder Vir OBE, a global media investment expert and consultant with over 25 years of experience in an award-winning career as a film and TV producer. Its advisory board is robust and features several prominent public and private sector figures including Harvard Business School’s Professor Michael E. Porter as its founding patron. Other board members are economist and former Pakistan prime minister, Shaukat Aziz; founder and executive chairman at Dalberg Global Development Advisors, Henrik Skovby; former Executive Vice President, Open Society Institute, Stewart Paperin; former managing director at Goldman Sachs and chief executive officer of Africa.com, Teresa Clarke; chief executive officer of Development Partners International, Runa Alam; Dr. Luisa Dias Diogo, who served as prime minister of Mozambique from 2004 to 2010 and chief executive officer of Bidco Group, Vimal Shah.

Activities

A leading light in African philanthropy,[12] TEF has relationships with several other organisations around the world.[13]

Global Entrepreneurship Summit, Kenya 2015

During the Global Entrepreneurship Summit which was opened by President Barack Obama, three Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs were part of the official GES programme and gave ‘Ignite talks’ on their entrepreneurial journey to the global audience including President Obama and President Kenyatta of Kenya.[14][15] Shadi Sabeh, CEO Brilliant Footsteps Academy, Nigeria; Tonee Ndungu, Founder, Kytabu, Kenya; and Jean Patrick Ehouman, Co-Founder and President, Akendewa in Côte d'Ivoire were the speakers representing their companies and are beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.[16]

References

  1. Kantai, Parselelo (2011-11-22). "Tycoons put professional veneer on business of giving". ft.com. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  2. "Tony Elumelu Foundation to promote excellence in business leadership". Vanguard. 2010-11-08. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  3. Balondemu, Claire (2011-04-19). "Uganda: Development Agencies in Investment Deal With Tanzanian Farms". All Africa. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  4. "Blair Elumelu Fellowship Programme: Supporting African Governments to Advance Economic Development". The Office of Tony Blair. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  5. "The Tony Elumelu Foundation". Global Impact Investing Network. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  6. http://nli-global.org/nli-launches-white-papers/
  7. http://www.thegiin.org/cgi-bin/iowa/resources/research/328.html
  8. http://blogs.wsj.com/frontiers/2015/07/24/africas-entrepreneurs-struggle-with-scarce-finance-and-poor-infrastructure/
  9. http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/report-reveals-access-to-capital-others-as-challenges-facing-entrepreneurs/215919/
  10. http://www.pmnewsnigeria.com/2015/07/28/elumelu-foundation-releases-report-on-africas-business-climate/
  11. http://www.punchng.com/business/appointments-management/african-entrepreneurs-decry-exclusion-from-low-interest-loans/
  12. Kantai, Parselelo (2011-11-22). "Tycoons put professional veneer on business of giving". Financial Times. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  13. http://www.investadvocate.com.ng/index.php/component/tags/tag/6323-oppenheimer-family-s-brenthurst-foundation
  14. http://www.covafrica.com/2015/07/obama-in-kenya-a-report-from-the-field-and-a-recap-of-the-global-entrepreneurship-summit/
  15. http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/africa-in-focus/posts/2015/07/29-obama-kenya-schneidman
  16. https://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000170554/50-universities-to-benefit-from-sh6-billion-ibm-funding

External links

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