Among the 5,000 young entrepreneurs who took part in the last edition of Tony Elumelu Forum (TEF), there were 102 Cameroonians. They benefited from an aid of 30 million CFA francs released by President Paul Biya for the convenience of their stay in Nigeria. They left Abuja each with an endowment of 2,500,000 to boost their projects. The opportunity for TEF promoter Tony Elumelu to thank the Cameroonian president for his action in favor of these young people. "I am very moved by this support from my elder President Paul Biya who has always been with us. On behalf of the Foundation and the young African and Cameroonian entrepreneurs who participated this year, I deeply thank President Biya. Young entrepreneurs deserve the support of our leaders. When I was in Cameroon recently at the invitation of President Paul Biya, we talked about entrepreneurship and growth. This is a good gesture, "said the Nigerian businessman to the journalists of the CRTV parties cover the event and whose report was broadcast on the big television news of the evening on August 2, 2019.
Gathered among others at the Transcorp Hilton hotel in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria on July 26th and 27th, 2019, 60 speakers from 3 continents found themselves in what is presented as the largest gathering of African entrepreneurs. During this edition of the Tony Elumelu Forum, the Youth Entrepreneurship Forum, African Presidents and other invited leaders from around the world reflected on the issues of job creation and youth empowerment. From the public and private sectors of 3 continents, they participated in master classes, plenary sessions and interactive debates focused on the generation of ideas and the definition of concrete measures that Africa must implement to empower its youth. and accelerate its development. The guests exchanged directly with young entrepreneurs from 20 African countries where UBA is present, who presented their innovative products and solutions on UBA Marketplace, hosted by the world's leading African bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA).
Led by US journalist and host of CNN program Fareed Zakaria GPS, the presidential debate, which was the highlight of the two-day event, aimed to chart the way forward to eradicate poverty in Africa through job creation. Among the leaders of the public sector, Paul Kagame, the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Macky Sall, President of Senegal, Felix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister of the Republic of Uganda who represented President Yoweri Museveni.
Health care played a prominent role in the discussions when health sector leaders - public and private - addressed this theme in the plenary session entitled "The Role of Health Care in Economic Transformation". Dr. Awele Elumelu, Tony Elumelu Foundation Administrator and CEO of Avon Medical Practice, Aisha Buhari, First Lady of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Djena Kaba Condé, First Lady of Guinea, Keïta Aminata Maiga, First Lady of Mali, Gilles Carbonnier, Vice-President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Oulimata Sarr, the acting Regional Director of UN Women for Central and West Africa and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization health were leading the debate.
The first edition of the UBA Marketplace, an initiative of the UBA Group for entrepreneurs from different economic sectors (fashion and accessories, cinema, culinary arts, music, electronics, computers, health , etc.) was held on the margins of the TEF Forum. Selected candidates received an all-expenses paid trip to Abuja for their participation in the UBA Group Fair. A total of 150 SME owners from 20 African countries exhibited at UBA Marketplace The UBA Group intended to provide an opportunity for hundreds of African entrepreneurs, including Cameroonians, to reveal their genius and know-how to the continent and to the region. rest of the world. That, starting from the philosophy dear to Tony Elumelu for which "no one will make the development of Africa apart from the Africans themselves".
Source: Afrinews.pro