At the 5th
edition of the annual forum, CGECI Academy 2016, the Ivorian National
Council of Employers, General Confederation of Enterprises of Côte
d'Ivoire (CGECI) presented African businessman and investor, Tony
Elumelu, with its 2016 CGECI Lifetime Achievement Award on April 21,
2016 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The formal presentation was to honour
Mr.
Elumelu on his leadership and key role as an African business champion.
The event was attended by over three thousand delegates across Africa
including top government officials, business leaders, established and
aspiring entrepreneurs.
Addressing
guests present at the event, Chairman of African investments company,
Heirs Holdings, UBA Plc and Transcorp Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu delivered a
keynote speech where he advocated for the collaboration of the private
and public sectors to create value in the global competitive business
landscape. He said, “SMEs are the backbone of any economy anywhere in
the world. And when governments ignore the private sector and fail to
attend to their obligations to create and sustain enabling environments
for businesses to thrive and flourish, the consequences are stark - low
GDP growth, mass unemployment, ethnic strife and possibly, even food and
health crises and in some cases, violent conflict”.
Mr.
Elumelu also addressed entrepreneurs, urging them to seek opportunities
to accelerate their business success — including through The Tony
Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP). “We are champions
of African development because we are Africapitalists. Through
Africapitalism, I seek to evangelize what works for successful business
investments and inspire other entrepreneurs like yourselves; to also
make the promotion of national and regional development a strategic
priority for your businesses”, he said.
TEEP
is his 10-year, $100 million commitment, to identify and empower 10,000
African entrepreneurs, create one million jobs and add $10 billion in
revenues to Africa’s economy. So far, seventeen (17) entrepreneurs from
Côte d'Ivoire have received grants and training from the programme.
Since
its initiation in 2012 by the Ivorian National council of Employers,
the annual economic forum, CGECI Academy, has provided a platform to
raise awareness among African entrepreneurs about existing sources of
capital and investors available to help grow and develop their
businesses. The forum seeks to change the paradigm of access to finance
in Côte d’Ivoire, creating a platform for sharing experiences and
expertise. Furthermore, it aims to present the Ivorian private sector to
regional and international partners and highlight the achievements and
the opportunities within it. Other activities during the event include
the announcement of the yearly business plan competition and a segment
dedicated to sharing the experiences and testimonials of entrepreneurs.
The
ceremony was attended by the Prime Minister of Côte d’Ivoire, Daniel
Kablan Duncan, and the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Sir Anerood
Jugnauth, among other business leaders and senior government officials.
0 maoni:
Chapisha Maoni