Elumelu says entrepreneurship remains veritable solution to reducing poverty

Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, said entrepreneurship remains a veritable solution to reduce poverty in Nigeria.

Elumelu, who is also the Chairman, Heirs Holding, restated his conviction that entrepreneurship is the viable means to end the nation’s economic woes.

In his paper with the theme: “Entrepreneurship, Corporate Social Responsibility and Africapitalism: The Role of The Private Sector In Fighting Poverty in Nigeria” delivered at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies in Kuru, Plateau State, he noted that government alone cannot provide all the basic needs of the large youthful population in Nigeria.

He addressed distinguished guests of 67 participants, including officials from the police, the military, national planning, works, and the Presidency.

The forum was an avenue for promoting discourse on how to move the country forward in light of the present economic challenges.

He acknowledged the efforts of the Institute in constituting the gathering as timely towards finding solutions to solving the country’s socio-economic development.

Elumelu said he was optimistic that with the right policy reforms, Nigeria could be well on her way to rising above present challenges.

While acknowledging that past governments’ entrepreneurship schemes had not been successful in eradicating poverty in the country, he restated his long-term conviction on entrepreneurship as a solution to ending the country’s economic challenges.

According to him, “Governments alone do not have the capacity to provide the basic daily needs or employment for the millions of young Nigerians entering the job market every year. Therefore, the private sector must be an integral part of our national poverty eradication and development strategy.”

Elumelu said emphatically, “If our entrepreneurs succeed, Nigeria succeeds.”

He insisted, “entrepreneurship and not philanthropy, is key to achieving poverty reduction and empowering Nigerians as we strive to solve our challenges without dependence on aid from outside the country.

“No one but we will save ourselves. The development of Africa is up to Africans. Donors and partners can help, but the work of developing our nations is ours. Nigeria’s poverty and development challenges are great. But they do not exceed the capacity of our people to solve them. We welcome every initiative that helps in reducing poverty. More effort is required.”

Elumelu, who espoused the quintessence of capitalism, highlighted the achievements of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme as a case study of how Africans, and by extension Nigerians, can solve their own problems via entrepreneurship.

“The goal of the yearly programme is to invest $100 million over the next 10 years to identify, train, mentor and seed 10,000 African businesses with a view of creating one million new jobs and $10bn in additional revenue for the continent by democratizing and institutionalizing the ‘luck.

“The second set of 1,000 entrepreneurs was announced a few months ago and boasted of representation from all thirty-six states of Nigeria and other African countries.

“The programme and the forum will serve to empower, inspire and, most importantly, teach these young African men and women how to become fishermen. I am proud to tell you that in the Class of 2015, Nigerian entrepreneurs numbered 480, and all 36 states were represented. This year, Nigerians make up 601 (or 60%) of the top 1,000, bringing the total number of Nigerian entrepreneurs in our programme to 1,081,” he said.

Giving a vote of thanks, the Acting Director General of the Institute, Ibrahim Lamorde, told participants to commit themselves to creating a conducive environment for entrepreneurship in their workplaces.

He said, “All 67 participants and those of us who are also in other areas of responsibility will go out and ensure that between now and the end of the year, we promote just one policy that will drive change. I think this will go a long way in addressing the issue of poverty in this country.”

Ending his address, he urged Elumelu to encourage and advise other wealthy entrepreneurs to emulate and support the good work he is doing in Nigeria and across the African continent.