Tony Elumelu Foundation welcomes 1k entrepreneurs to Pan-African bootcamp

What’s being dubbed the largest ever gathering of emerging entrepreneurs on the continent, the Tony Elumelu Foundation‘s (TEF) two-day bootcamp session will host 1 000 selectees from the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme from 10 to 12 July in Ota, Nigeria.

“We hope The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme can catalyse and encourage other African business leaders to empower emerging entrepreneurs. If we all come together with requisite resources we can make a significant difference,” said Tony Elumelu, the founder of the US$100-million Pan-African entrepreneurship initiative at a recent press conference.

Selected out of a total 20 000 entrepreneurs from across the continent, the 1 000 entrepreneurs will get exposure to speakers with a proven track record in business and leadership. The entrepreneurs will be able to participate in the sessions including an open mic with Elumelu himself as well as other leaders from industry.

In the build-up to the bootcamp, the TEF has engaged emerging entrepreneurs in a 12-week online training which hoped to empower the selectees. Elumelu explained why this multi-million dollar programme is so important to development all over the continent:

In empowering these emerging entrepreneurs, we are providing the capital, the networks, the training and support for them to drive economic and social transformation throughout Africa, providing solutions to its problems as well as securing their future and that of generations to come.

Speaking on the ideals of the programme and the need for the training, Parminder Vir, CEO of the foundation, says the initiative is providing a springboard for the emerging entrepreneurs to take over the world with their innovative ideas. “At the end of this bootcamp, we want them to have come, seen and be transformed into full-fledged entrepreneurs and ambassadors for Africapitalism,” Vir said.

The winners represent 51 African countries and territories, ranging from agriculture to education to fashion and ICT. For more information on the 1 000 chosen entrepreneurs, click here.