African businessman
and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu has proposed a new entrepreneur- led
development model for Africa at two high profile events in Washington DC.
Mr. Elumelu, who is Chairman of United
Bank for Africa, and Founder, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, spoke
at a White House event hosted by United States President, Barack Obama
to celebrate emerging entrepreneurs around the globe. The event
was a prelude to Obama’s scheduled trip to Kenya later this year for the
Global Entrepreneurship Summit.
During remarks to announce the Summit
and his plans to participate, President Obama thanked the global coalition of
entrepreneurship organizations that collaborated with his administration to
launch the Spark campaign for global entrepreneurship, a campaign in which the
Tony Elumelu Foundation is a founding member.
The President went on to say to the
entrepreneurs present, “Entrepreneurship empowers people to no longer be subject
to aid agencies, but to be part of something to pursue their dreams.
Entrepreneurs like you can change the world one idea at a time.”
During his comments at the White House
event while participating on a panel moderated by United States Secretary of
Commerce, Penny Pritzker, Mr Elumelu championed the cause of African
entrepreneurs as the primary drivers of Africa’s transformation. In closing, Mr
Elumelu provided the following advice to global entrepreneurs,
“Entrepreneurship is a long term journey. Great entrepreneurs are not made
overnight. Dare to dream, implement your dream, and stay focused.”
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