Tony Elumelu, a Nigerian economist and philanthropist, says the advancement of private sector initiatives is key to unlocking Africa’s potential.
The economist said this while speaking at the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) philanthropy event for entrepreneurs, hosted by the Centre for Strategic Philanthropy (CSP).
He added that youths need to be engaged in job creation, and must be ready to develop the continent through entrepreneurship.
‘’We don’t just give seed capital but we engage young people in Africa to create jobs and prosperity,” he said.
“We need to have an army of enterprising young people and we have found a way of developing our continent and that is through entrepreneurship.”
Elumelu also urged African youths to create opportunities in the continent to salvage it.
“By 2050, half of the world’s youth population will be African. If they don’t have opportunities and prosperity in their own land, it is a ticking time bomb,” he said.
“The only solution to avoiding this devastating consequence is to create opportunities on the African continent.”
The TEF founder further said that the foundation has explored and implemented different initiatives with a focus on entrepreneurship since its inception in 2010.
He added that it (TEF) has executed its mission of supporting entrepreneurs and catalysing entrepreneur-led development across Africa.
