Tony Elumelu welcomes over 1,000 Africans to Lagos

The founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Heirs Holding and Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA), Tony Elumelu, will host the largest gathering of African entrepreneurs in the world in Lagos, the former capital city of Nigeria, at the TEF Entrepreneurship Forum, tomorrow.

The forum is a two-day event and it features plenary panels, masterclasses, and sector-specific networking opportunities as well as policy-led talks focused on improving the enabling environment for African businesses.

It is the first time more than 1,000 people will be gathered in Lagos for the forum.

It will be recalled that Entrepreneurship+ reported Parminder Vir, TEF Chief Executive Officer, as saying that: “This is the first year we have opened the forum up to include not just the 1,000 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs from the 2017 cycle of our Programme, but the full pan-African entrepreneurship ecosystem. In doing so, we are allowing disparate SME communities to come together and expand the possibilities for intra-African partnerships. I urge policymakers and investors to join us at the Forum as we empower the next generation of African business titans,” said in an earlier statement put out by the foundation.

The event which begins at 8.30 am tomorrow will be declared opened by Dr Awele Elumelu, Chairperson, Avon Healthcare Limited and will include two plenaries and a masterclass on finance.

Speakers slated for the for the two-day event include: Wale Ayeni, International Finance Corporation; Stephen Tio Kauma, Afrexim Bank; Andre Hue, African Development Bank; Stephen M. Haykin, USAID Nigeria; Heikke Reugger, European Investment Bank; Abdoulaye Mar Dieye, United Nations Development Programme, among others.