Understanding UNGA 78 roundtable on Africa’s business environment

AT the just-concluded United Nations General Assembly held in New York, United States of America, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Generation Unlimited (GENU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IKEA Foundation held a roundtable discussion on setting the records straight for Africa. SEGUN KASALI brings the discussion to the fore.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) alongside the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Generation Unlimited (GENU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and IKEA Foundation held a breakfast roundtable at the sidelines of the recent 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York, United State of America.

Among other personalities present were Deniece Laurent-Mantey, Director for Africa, National Security Council; Travis Atkins, President USADF, an independent U.S. government agency established by Congress to invest directly in African grassroots enterprises and social entrepreneurs; Oliver Alawuba, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the United Bank for Africa; Sola Yomi-Ajayi, Executive Director for International Banking and the CEO of UBA America; Modupe Olusola, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Hotels Plc; Linus Idahosa, founder, DelYork Group and Nollywood actress and director, Omoni Oboli.

At the event, President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by the Minister of Trade and Industry, Doris Uzoka-Anite, said Tony Elumelu has been the major person driving investments in support of the youth and start-ups, stressing that Africans need to challenge themselves a bit further and stop looking for international organisations for donor funding.

In his speech, Elumelu highlighted the significant contribution of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s (TEF) flagship of $100 million entrepreneurship programme in advancing Africa’s socioeconomic development. He noted that 13 years ago, the foundation took a bold step to rewrite and change Africa by enhancing entrepreneurship development to galvanise African solutions.

On the seed capital, training, mentoring and networking provided by TEF, he added “We have lit a beacon and we need the beacon to shine brighter and better. To do this, we need the support and collaboration of everyone. $100 million is a drop of water in the ocean compared to what we need in Africa. Young Africans need economic support. We have seen the devastating effect of climate change and how our young ones, due to hopelessness, are migrating and living in difficult situations. We want to put a stop to that.”

To achieve that, Elumelu called for collaboration to prioritise young Africans, bring more women to economic activities and alleviate poverty, adding that “poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere.”

Also speaking, Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa, UNDP, said the programme partnered with TEF due to similar belief in galvanising development across Africa and globally, adding that Africa’s wealth is its population, which constitutes 70 percent of young, vibrant and innovative Africans.

“It is our loss if we don’t invest in them because that is the future of prosperity,” she said, just as she called for enhanced collaboration and investment to strengthen the economic development of African youths.”

Earlier on, TEF Chief Executive Officer, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, said the organisation is the partner of choice for all development agencies across the world who want to transform the way they give to Africa, who want to have a more catalytic, impactful partnership with the African continent.

She said, “The Tony Elumelu Foundation is a leading philanthropy in Africa empowering young African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries. We launched our flagship programme, the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015 with a $100 million commitment by Mr Elumelu and his family.

“His goal was to see 10,000 African entrepreneurs over 10 years, in only eight years. We have more than surpassed that target to date. We have funded 18,000 entrepreneurs, disbursing over $100 million directly as seed capital to these entrepreneurs and they have gone on to create over 400 thousand jobs across all African countries.”

Also speaking, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State said “Listening to the great work that Tony Elumelu has done, especially with partners, resonates with me. As the governor in the largest African economy with the largest youth population, I know the importance of inclusive empowerment.”

The Chief Executive Officer of IKEA Foundation, Per Heggenes, also expressed happiness at the chance to work with the TEF and GenU to “collaborate with entrepreneurs in sub-Saharan Africa to help create their own opportunities.”

While thanking Elumelu for the partnership, Kevin Frey, CEO of GenUnlimited, said it has continued to drive them forward on entrepreneurship and it was amazing that they have achieved so much already.

Other important guests included Microsoft EVP and President, National Transformation Partnerships, JP Courtois, who also lent support to empowering more young African entrepreneurs to shape the future and deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Trade and Development, USA, Alexia Latortue, who said he is inspired by the TEF entrepreneurs, noted, “We need to create education that matters; local green solutions to local problems and credit,” adding that “if we are to reach the SDGs, we need Africa. If we are to reach the SDGs, we need the youth.”

At the roundtable, TEF announced two initiatives; the first was The Tony Elumelu Foundation Impact Report, ‘A Decade of Impact,’ which revealed how Elumelu’s $100 million commitment ignited socioeconomic transformation across Africa. From eradicating poverty to creating jobs in all 54 African countries, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is fostering inclusive economic empowerment and nurturing the next generation of business leaders.

The second initiative was the BeGreenAfrica, where TEF joined hands with UNICEF Generation Unlimited and IKEA Foundation to launch #BeGreenAfrica, a groundbreaking Green Entrepreneurship Programme. The goal is to equip African youth to combat climate change, biodiversity loss and resource scarcity while creating sustainable job opportunities.

In unveiling its ‘Decade of Impact’ in the TEF Impact Report for 2022, TEF Advisory Board Member, Fatou Assah, said in its 13 years of empowering young African entrepreneurs across all 54 African nations, TEF has trained 1.5 million entrepreneurs, over 18, 000 beneficiaries has disbursed $100 million seed capital with 400,000 jobs created, with 58 percent created by female-owned businesses.

Also, TEF-funded businesses generated $2.3 billion since 2015 while the beneficiaries’ annual profits were on average of over 22X (the average annual income per capita in their corresponding countries).

Over 25 percent of TEF beneficiaries have acquired additional investments in their business since receiving TEF seed capital and women’s employment rate has risen from 24 percent to 52 percent given that the programme has empowered over 7,183 women with 85 percent of these women single-handedly leading their businesses.

When it comes to its contribution to environmental sustainability, 83 percent of the beneficiaries are contributing to the reduction of carbon footprints while 91 percent of beneficiaries are contributing to minimise waste and the use of natural products and sustainable materials, just as 69 percent of beneficiaries are contributing to safer energy sources.

Essentially, TEF is also 100 percent contributing to SDG 8, Decent Work and Economic Growth and SDG 2 on Quality Education with 76 percent tackling zero hunger.

In its pledge, TEF said it will build on these successes and its robust delivery process and deepen its commitment to reach across sectors and geographies to identify and support young African entrepreneurs, targeting female empowerment and growth in fragile states, through its soon-to-be-launched Coalition for African Entrepreneurs.

In essence, the coalition aims to catalyse a further 100,000 young African entrepreneurs and small businesses, focusing on fragile states, women entrepreneurs and green entrepreneurship. The coalition is open to development agencies, the global private sector, philanthropic organisations and governments to collaborate in empowering Africa’s next generation, particularly in the green economy.

 

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