Ifeyinwa will lead the team in scaling the impact of the Foundation which is globally recognised for pioneering a new approach to philanthropy with its $100 million commitment to empowering African entrepreneurs. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector as the key enabler of economic and social wealth creation in Africa.

Ifeyinwa served as Director of Partnerships of the Tony Elumelu Foundation since November 2017 and succeeds Parminder Vir, OBE, who has been elevated to the Advisory Board of the Foundation. In her new role as CEO, Ifeyinwa will leverage her expertise, experience and network to provide strategic leadership in realising the Foundation’s goal of transforming Africa through entrepreneurship.

Speaking on the appointments, Tony Elumelu, Founder, the Tony Elumelu Foundation stated: “As Director of Partnerships, Ifeyinwa demonstrated strong leadership and strategic thinking in delivering the Foundation’s mission to transform Africa, securing major partnerships that scale the impact of the Foundation beyond its targeted 10,000 entrepreneurs. She is the perfect candidate to build on Parminder’s immense contribution.”

“On behalf of the Board, I also commend Parminder, fondly known as the mother of African entrepreneurs, for her notable achievements, significant sacrifice and commitment to building and empowering the next generation of African business leaders. I warmly welcome her to the Board,” Elumelu stated.

In response, Parminder said: “In the last five years, we have empowered a generation of young Africans with the training, tools and opportunities to launch the continent into prosperity. As CEO, it has been my profound joy to support thousands of young people whose ideas are transforming Africa. I am therefore honoured to join the Tony Elumelu Foundation Advisory Board to contribute to the many more success stories that will emerge out of Africa.”

Accepting her appointment, Ifeyinwa said: “In my former role within the Foundation, I witnessed first-hand the potential of entrepreneurship in tackling Africa’s key challenges – unemployment and poverty. Our recently launched TEFConnect, the digital networking platform connecting African entrepreneurs, investors and mentors for business success will further achieve our Founder’s goal of democratising luck across the continent and fostering business beyond physical borders.

“I am honoured by the opportunity to build on Parminder’s legacy and launch the Tony Elumelu Foundation into its next phase of growth.”

Prior to joining the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa served as a management consultant for the Enterprise Development Centre at the Pan-Atlantic University. She sat on the Board of Women Empowerment and Children Relief in Africa, a Cape Town-based non-profit focused on enhancing the economic welfare of women. Ifeyinwa holds a Bachelor of Law degree from the University of Wales, and a Post Graduate Degree in Business and Executive Coaching from the Integral Africa Institute, Cape Town. She is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, Nigeria.

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The partnership results from the mutual interest of both organizations to foster economic growth and empowerment in Nigeria by building a skilled workforce and driving entrepreneurship development in the country.

Expressing her thoughts on the collaboration, GE Director of Communications & Public Affairs Patricia Obozuwa said “We are happy to collaborate with a reputable organization such as the Tony Elumelu Foundation on this skill building initiative.

“There is a lot of alignment between TEF and GE’s commitment to the development of Nigerian entrepreneurs and we look forward to seeing some great success stories from TEF participants on the training programme,” she added.

Speaking on TEF’s commitment to empower Nigeria’s entrepreneurs, “We welcome the collaboration with GE, world’s top 10 most innovative companies, to spur the growth of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs, Nigeria’s new innovators.

“This programme will help them to further develop their products and business models as a follow up to the Foundations’s Entrepreneurship Programme,” said Parminder Vir OBE, CEO Tony Elumelu Foundation.

“The training programme will, among other things, expose participants to a wide spectrum of topics that are essential for manufacturing and design in the 21st Century; sharpen teamwork, communication, and creativity skills of participants; promote excellence in the practice of design and manufacturing within and across professions; expose selected entrepreneurs to real-world design and manufacturing problems, bring concepts to reality and cultivate the entrepreneurs’ ability to express, evoke and shape experience through design and manufacturing.

GE created the Garages programme in March 2012 to reinvigorate interest in invention, innovation, and manufacturing in America. This programme went global with two workshops in Lagos in 2014 and in December 2016, GE launched a permanent space, co-located with their Lagos offices dedicated to the training of young Nigerians in advanced manufacturing and business development. 

By playing a role in the development of the advanced manufacturing ecosystem in Nigeria, GE hopes to create jobs, build local knowledge and capability, and encourage technology-based innovation in the manufacturing sector.

The entrepreneurs in this class will exclusively come from the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, its 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 entrepreneurs, capable of changing the face of business across Africa.

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Elumelu joined global business and political leaders during the event, bringing a message of Africa’s continued economic renaissance and of the critical role that Africa’s private sector is playing in the continent’s transformation.

Heirs Holdings executives accompanying Elumelu to the Forum include Transcorp Hotels CEO Valentine Ozigbo and the CEO of The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Parminder Vir OBE.

Elumelu attends WEF as both Chairman of Heirs Holdings, whose pan-African interests include financial services, energy, real estate, healthcare, power and agriculture; and as Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

The meetings will also provide the opportunity to highlight the $100 million entrepreneurship incubator, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.

Already, 2,000 African entrepreneurs have benefited from training and seed capital. This year alone, applications for the 3rd cycle of 1,000 places, which closes on 1st March, are expected to exceed 50,000. Given the success and the need to reach an even wider audience, TEF is opening up the opportunity to strategic partnerships to participate and increase access to even more entrepreneurs.

“The massive impact of our Programme so far, proves that it is durable, measurable and scalable. We are already well on our way to accomplishing the goal of catalyzing a new generation of entrepreneurs, and the time has come to scale the programme further to benefit more African each year.

“We are coming to Davos to seek partners ready to invest in African entrepreneurs, contributing not just time, skills, networks, but also seed capital so that we can scale up and support additional entrepreneurs each year,” Elumelu said.

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The application portal is open and accepting submissions until Midnight WAT on March 1, 2017. To apply, complete the online application at:
www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/programme.

Successful applicants will join the third cycle of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, TEF’s 10-year, $100 million commitment to train, mentor and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs in every African country. Since inception in 2015, the Programme has assisted nearly 2,000 entrepreneurs and created hundreds of jobs across the continent.

The Programme provides critical tools for entrepreneurial success, including:

• Training: 12 weeks of intensive training on setting-up and managing businesses

• Mentoring: A mentor will guide successful applicants in creating a robust business plan

• Seed Capital: $5,000 in non-returnable seed capital and access to a $5,000 convertible loan

TEF Founder, serial entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Elumelu, said “Our Programme is a deliberate effort to institutionalise luck and provide the essentials for business growth to Africa’s next generation of business leaders. It is a demonstration of my faith in this generation’s ability to transform the African narrative, from the single story of disease and poverty, to one of enterprise and opportunity. Spread the word; we need Africa’s best and brightest entrepreneurs. Their ideas will transform Africa.”

One thousand entrepreneurs will be selected based on the viability of their idea, including: market opportunity; financial understanding; scalability; and leadership and entrepreneurial skills demonstrated in the application.

To be eligible, such a business must be based in Africa, must be for profit, be 0-3 years’ old and applicants must be at least 18 and a legal resident or citizen of an African country

CEO of the Foundation, Parminder Vir OBE said “We encourage women, French, Arabic and Portuguese speakers and business ideas from every region across Africa, to apply. Our 2,000 alumni are already growing their businesses and improving lives. If you have a transformational business or an idea, we have an opportunity for you.”

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