TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 3,050 ENTREPRENEURS SELECTED FOR THE 5th CYCLE OF THE TEF ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME

• Further 2,050 beneficiaries supported by Foundation partners
• TEF Entrepreneurship Forum – Africa’s largest entrepreneurship convening – to be held on July 26-27
LAGOS, NIGERIA, March 22, 2019— The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading African philanthropy committed to empowering African entrepreneurs, today announced 3,050 African entrepreneurs, drawn from all 54 African countries, selected to join the 5th cycle of its $100million TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.

The announcement was made at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, following a presentation of the selection process by Accenture Development Partners.

This year, over 216,000 applications were received, an increase from last year’s 151,000. Nearly 90,000 were submitted by female entrepreneurs, an increase of 45%, illustrating the Foundation’s strategy to achieve greater gender balance. The selected Entrepreneurs will each receive nonrefundable $5,000 of seed capital, access to mentors, and a 12-week business training programme, directly focused on the needs of African entrepreneurs. On July 26 – 27 2019, they will gather at the TEF Entrepreneurship Forum, the largest annual gathering of African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem on the continent.

TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, who celebrated his birthday today, said: “Every year, we face an almost impossible task – to select 1,000 entrepreneurs, from the hundreds of thousands that apply. Our entrepreneurs are hungry to effect change. We know we are only scratching the surface, we see the depth of entrepreneurial talent, that all of us – government, business indeed African society, must harness to transform our economies and livelihoods. We must rally together to empower them and accelerate the change we want on the continent”.

In her speech, Her Excellency, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, the wife of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, commended the Programme’s impact on the continent, charging the selected entrepreneurs to contribute to the advancement of the African continent.

“Indeed, I am confident that these Tony Elumelu entrepreneurs will inspire deep confidence and be of immense value not just to Nigeria but to the entire continent,” she said.

Speaking on the announcement, the incoming CEO, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, said, “The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme has successfully empowered 7,520 entrepreneurs in its first five years of the 10- year programme.

Marking the fifth anniversary of the 10-year programme, this year’s selection includes 2,050 entrepreneurs, supported by the Foundation’s partners in addition to the Foundation’s annual commitment of 1,000, bringing the total number of entrepreneurs empowered by the Foundation to date to 7,520.

Last year, we launched TEFConnect - the digital networking platform for African entrepreneurs and open to all - to further democratise the access to opportunities for the thousands of entrepreneurs that cannot directly benefit from our Entrepreneurship Programme. This further demonstrates our commitment to empowering our entrepreneurs and our belief that entrepreneurship holds the key to unleashing the true potential of the African continent", she said.

The Foundation’s growing list of partners includes the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Federal Republic of Benin (Seme City), the Anambra State Government, Indorama, the Government of Botswana and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

 For a list of the selected 2018 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs and information on our applicants, please visit http://bit.ly/TEF2019.

Photos

L-R: Tony Elumelu, Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation; Her Excellency Mrs. Aisha Buhari, First Lady of Nigeria; Dr. Awele Elumelu, Member, Board of Trustees, Tony Elumelu Foundation ; at the Selection and Unveiling of the 5th Cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja over the weekend. 

L-R: Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, incoming CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Parminder Vir, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Ambassador Shimon BenShoshan, Ambassador of Israel to Nigeria; Tony Elumelu, Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Her Excellency Mrs. Aisha Buhari, First Lady of Nigeria; Dr. Awele Elumelu, Member, Board of Trustees, Tony Elumelu Foundation; at the Selection and Unveiling of the 5th Cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja over the weekend.

L-R: Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, incoming CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Parminder Vir, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Ambassador Shimon BenShoshan, Ambassador of Israel to Nigeria; Tony Elumelu, Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Her Excellency Mrs. Aisha Buhari, First Lady of Nigeria; Dr. Awele Elumelu, Member, Board of Trustees, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Ambassador Yvonne Khamati , Deputy Ambassador to Kenya; HRH Ebitimi Banigo, King of Okpoama kingdom; at the Selection and Unveiling of the 5th Cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja over the weekend.

ABOUT TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is the leading African philanthropy committed to empowering African entrepreneurs. Founded by African investor and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, the Foundation is guided by the philosophy, Africapitalism, which proposes that the private sector holds the key to unlocking the sustainable development of Africa.

Through its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme, the Foundation empowers African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem across 54 African countries. The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is a $100million commitment by the Elumelu family to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over a 10-year period. The goal is to create at least 1million jobs and contribute over $10billion in revenue to the African economy.

 Since its inception in 2015, the Programme has empowered 4,000 African entrepreneurs directly and an additional 470 entrepreneurs supported by the Foundation’s global partners.

MEDIA CONTACT: 

Media inquiries should be directed to media@tonyelumelufoundation.org. ###

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The Tony Elumelu Foundation to Announce Selected Entrepreneurs for 2019 Programme on March 22, 2019

* Over 1,000 African entrepreneurs from African 54 countries to participate in the 2019 Cohort

* Event to be livestreamed on TEFConnect – Africa’s digital entrepreneurship hub

LAGOS, NIGERIA, March 18, 2019 – The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading African philanthropy committed to empowering African entrepreneurs, will announce the selected applicants for the 2019 cohort of the Foundation’s flagship Entrepreneurship Programme on March 22, 2019. The event, which marks the 5th round of the Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme, will take place at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja.

Every year, the Tony Elumelu Foundation opens its application portal to African entrepreneurs, with businesses of less than three years old. Through its $100million Entrepreneurship Programme, the Foundation empowers 1,000 entrepreneurs annually, who receive $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, access to mentors, a 12-week training programme and opportunities to promote their businesses to a global audience. All applicants receive access to TEFConnect, Africa’s digital entrepreneurial hub, which provides access to networks, training, further capital sources and business opportunities.

As a means of cascading its proven entrepreneurial tool kit to the huge numbers of applicants, the Foundation launched in 2018, TEFConnect, the digital networking platform for African entrepreneurs. The platform, which has currently over 400,000 users, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to network, receive training and forge business partnerships to scale their businesses beyond physical borders.

In the five years since the Foundation launched its Entrepreneurship Programme, it has empowered 4,000 African entrepreneurs directly and an additional 470 entrepreneurs supported by the Foundation’s partners. The Foundation recently appointed Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu as CEO effective from April 1. Mrs. Ugochukwu succeeds Parminder Vir, OBE, who will continue to lend her experience and expertise as a member of the Foundation’s Advisory Board.

The incoming CEO, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, emphasised the importance of partnership in reaching additional entrepreneurs beyond the Foundation’s annual commitment of 1,000 entrepreneurs.

“Each year we see a significant uplift in applicants. Our execution partner, Accenture Development Partnerships, are currently reviewing and finalising the applications. Over 215,000 African entrepreneurs applied from across 54 African countries, up from 151,000 applications last year, with an increase in female representation from 62,000 in 2018 to 90,000 in 2019. These rising figures demonstrate the burning desire of the African entrepreneur to develop our continent, and we must urgently convert this passion into viable businesses to develop our continent.

Our Programme has developed a robust mechanism for directing capital effectively and efficiently, to those who can deploy it in local communities with the greatest impact. We are looking forward to working with partners to collaborate with us, to scale the platform and process we have created. Empowering African entrepreneurs must be a shared responsibility to create economic prosperity for all”, she said.

Speaking on the Entrepreneurship Programme, Osato Noah, West Africa Lead, Accenture Development Partnerships, said:

“We have worked with the Tony Elumelu Foundation since the inception of the Entrepreneurship Programme. In 2015, the first round of the Programme saw us review 20,000 applications for the Foundation and this year we reviewed over 215,000 applications. The sheer diversity and speed at which

applications have scaled in the last four years have been incredible. We commend the Tony Elumelu Foundation for their commitment to the transparency of the programme, and Accenture is proud to partner in the delivery of this Pan-African project.”

The Selection Announcement will also feature a Nigerian TEF Alumni Meet up, as well as an interactive dialogue with TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON.

Watch the livestream on our Facebook page here or on TEFConnect here

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UBA Group Launches Full Banking Operations in the UK / Le groupe UBA lance officiellement ses opérations bancaires au Royaume-Uni

         

l-r:  CEO, UBA UK, Mr. Patrick Gutmann; GMD/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka; President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; Group Chairman, UBA Plc, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu; President, Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah; and CEO, UBA Africa, Mr. Victor Osadolor at the launch of UBA UK in London on Thursday:

UBA Group Launches Full Banking Operations in the UK
Three weeks after the UBA group launched its operations in Mali, the global financial city of London hosted a high level gathering of business and public sector leaders on Thursday February 28, 2019, as the new UBA franchise, UBA UK was formally birthed in the United Kingdom amidst high expectations.

At the upscale ceremony which was held at The Prestigious Shard in the city of London, UBA UK was formerly introduced to business leaders across Europe and Africa with a commitment from the UBA Group of its readiness to galvanise trade and commerce between Europe and Africa.

The formal launch is sequel to the authorization of the Prudential Regulation Authority(PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority(FCA) for UBA UK Limited to carry out full scale wholesale banking across the United Kingdom.

With this launch, UBA Group further consolidates its unique positioning as the first and only Sub-Saharan African financial institution with banking operations in both the United Kingdom and the United States, thus reinforcing its strong franchise as Africa’s Global Bank, facilitating trade and capital flows between Africa and the world.

Speaking at the event, the Group Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu said the Group is excited by the authorization of the relevant regulatory authorities in the United Kingdom for UBA to upgrade its operation and further fulfil its aspiration of deepening trade and investments flows between Africa and Europe.

“The enhancement of our business in the United Kingdom is very timely and mutually beneficial for African and European corporates as well as respective governments. With the British and other European governments seeking new and improved measures to grow trade relations with Africa, we are enthusiastic on our positioning and capabilities in supporting corporates and government institutions to fulfil these lofty aspirations, which we believe are pertinent for the sustainable growth of both continents.”

Elumelu expressed that he is extremely pleased as UBA is living up to its mantra of being Africa’s global bank and positioning itself to support investors in key financial centres across the world.

Also speaking at the event, The Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, said “Simultaneously, we are serving the trade and capital needs of our African customers, who are seeking exposure to the European markets. With the upgrade of UBA UK Limited, we are excited to deepen our support to existing customers whilst also providing the leverage for new customers to effectively fulfil their cross-border transactions through UBA Group’s network.”

On his part, the CEO, UBA UK, Mr. Patrick Gutmann, said; “We are now on a stronger footing, as the authorization of the PRA and FCA for an enhanced business model affords us the opportunity to swell our capital and balance sheet as well as the broader UBA Group’s network across Africa. We welcome our existing and new customers to this new world of borderless opportunities, as we creatively serve our customers in meeting their international transaction needs.”

Some of the guests In attendance at the event were the President of Dangote Group; Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President; Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah; Former Prime Minister of Pakistan,  H.E Shaukat Aziz; Member of the British House of Lords and Executive Committee Member of the All Party  Africa Group, Rt. Hon Lord Anthony Tudor St. John,  amongst many others.

The event was not short on entertainment as one of Africa’s leading entertainers Dbanj performed to the admiration of guests including Star boy, Whiz Kid. 

United Bank for Africa (UK) Limited, previously named UBA Capital (Europe) Limited offers a full suite of treasury services, cash management, correspondent banking, corporate lending and wholesale deposit products to professionals and eligible counterparties. In addition, UBA (UK) Limited offers all aspects of structured and trade finance; issuance, acceptance, confirmation and refinancing of Letters of Credit of different variations, including SBLCs. 

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Le groupe UBA lance officiellement ses opérations bancaires au Royaume-Uni

Londres, le 1^er mars 2019: Trois semaines après le lancement par le groupe UBA de sa filiale au Mali, la ville financière mondiale de Londres a accueilli jeudi 28 février 2019 un rassemblement des dirigeants de haut niveau des secteurs privé et public, alors que la nouvelle franchise de UBA, UBA Royaume-Uni (UBA R-U), est officiellement née avec de grandes attentes.

Lors de la cérémonie haut de gamme qui s'est tenue dans le prestigieux Shard de Londres, UBA R-U a été formellement présentée aux chefs d’entreprise d’Europe et d’Afrique avec l’engagement du Groupe UBA de sa préparation à renforcer le dynamisme des échanges commerciaux entre l’Europe et l’Afrique.

Le lancement officiel fait suite à l’octroi de l’agrément de banque de grande clientèle par l’Autorité de Régulation Prudentielle (PRA) et de l’Autorité de Bonne Conduite Financière (FCA) à UBA R-U pour effectuer des opérations bancaires au Royaume-Uni.

Avec ce lancement, le groupe UBA consolide son unique positionnement en tant que la première et seule institution financière de l’Afrique subsaharienne avec des opérations bancaires au Royaume-Uni et aux États-Unis, renforçant ainsi sa solide réputation de banque africaine de référence à l’échelle mondiale, Africa’s global bank, facilitant les échanges et les flux de capitaux entre l’Afrique et le reste du monde.

S’exprimant lors de l’événement, le Président du Groupe UBA, Tony Elumelu, a fait part de l’enthousiasme suscité au sein du groupe par l’agrément accordé par les autorités de régulation compétentes du Royaume-Uni à UBA pour renforcer ses opérations et réaliser son aspiration de participer à la croissance des flux commerciaux et des investissements entre l’Afrique et l’Europe.

“Le renforcement de nos activités au Royaume-Uni est très opportun et mutuellement bénéfique pour les entreprises africaines et européennes, ainsi que pour les gouvernements respectifs. Les gouvernements britannique et européens, recherchant de nouvelles mesures améliorées pour développer leurs relations commerciales avec l’Afrique, nous sommes enthousiastes quant à notre positionnement et à nos capacités à accompagner les entreprises et les institutions gouvernementales à réaliser ces aspirations ambitieuses, qui, à notre avis, sont pertinentes pour la croissance durable des deux continents“.

M. Elumelu a exprimé sa grande satisfaction car UBA vit son mantra de banque africaine de référence à l’échelle mondiale, Afica’s global bank, et se positionne pour soutenir les investisseurs dans les principaux centres financiers à travers le monde.

S’exprimant également lors de l’événement, Kennedy Uzoka, Directeur Général du Groupe, a déclaré: “Le Groupe UBA est la passerelle la plus efficace facilitant aux entreprises et aux institutions européennes l’accès à l’Afrique, étant donné l’étendue du réseau de la banque sur la plupart des marches à impact du continent et sa connaissance approfondie de l’environnement des affaires en Afrique. Selon lui, “simultanément, nous répondons aux besoins en échanges et en capitaux de nos clients africains, qui recherchent une exposition aux marchés européens. Avec le renforcement des opérations de UBA R-U, nous sommes ravis de renforcer notre soutien aux clients existants tout en offrant aux nouveaux clients le moyen de traiter efficacement leurs transactions transfrontalières via le réseau du groupe UBA”.

De son côté, le DG de UBA R-U, Patrick Gutmann, a déclaré: “Nous nous trouvons maintenant sur des bases plus solides, car l’agrément de PRA et de FCA pour un modèle commercial renforcé nous donne l’opportunité de renforcer notre capital et notre bilan, ainsi que le réseau du groupe UBA en Afrique dans son ensemble. Nous souhaitons la bienvenue à nos clients existants et à nos nouveaux clients dans ce nouveau monde d’opportunités sans frontières, alors que nous mettons la créativité au service de nos clients pour répondre à leurs besoins en matière de transactions internationales”.

Parmi les invités présents, figurent le Président du Groupe Dangote, Alhaji Aliko Dangote; le Président d’Afreximbank, Dr. Benedict Oramah; S.E. Shaukat Aziz, ancien Premier ministre du Pakistan; Rt. Lord Anthony Tudor St. John, Membre de la Chambre britannique des lords et membre du comité exécutif d Groupe Parlementaire Multipartite pour l’Afrique, etc.

L’événement était riche en divertissements et l’un des principaux artistes africains, Dbanj, s’y est produit à l’admiration de nombreux invités dont la vedette, Whiz Kid.

United Bank for Africa Royaume-Uni, ancien UBA Capital Europe, offre une gamme complète de produits de trésorerie, de gestion de trésorerie, de correspondance bancaire, de crédit aux entreprises et de dépôts de grande clientèle aux professionnels et aux contreparties éligibles. En outre, UBA R-U offre toutes formes de financement structuré et de financement du commerce; d’émission, d’acceptation, de confirmation et de refinancement de lettres de crédit de différentes variations, y compris les lettres de crédit stand-by.  

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