The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum 2019

26-27 July 2019. LAGOS, Nigeria. At the recently 5th edition of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Forum - themed ‘Empowering African Entrepreneurs,’, five African Presidents and thousands of young African entrepreneurs converged at the most influential gathering in the African entrepreneurship ecosystem. Job creation and youth empowerment were the key themes tackled at the Forum.

More than 60 global speakers from the public and private sectors across three continents participated in interactive masterclasses, plenary sessions and debates geared towards generating ideas and defining concrete steps Africa must take to empower its youth and accelerate the continent's development. Guests interacted directly with young budding entrepreneurs from across the 20 African UBA-present countries who exhibited their innovative products and solutions at the UBA Marketplace, powered by Africa's global bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA).

Extracts of the programme:

The Presidential Debate, which formed the highlight of the two-day event, focused on charting the way forward towards the eradication of poverty in Africathrough job creation. The public sector leaders on the panel included

• H.E. Paul Kagame, President, Republic of Rwanda; 
• H.E. Macky Sall, President, Republic of Senegal; 
• H.E. Félix Tshisekedi, President, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); 
• H.E. (Prof.) Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), Vice President, Federal Republic of Nigeria; and 
• Hon (Dr.) Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister, Republic of Uganda, representing the President of Uganda, H.E. Yoweri Museveni.

First plenary: Tackling challenges and seizing opportunities. - see transcript

• Moderator Jennifer Blanke, the vice president, Agriculture, Human and Social Development, African Development Bank.
• Papa Sarr, Minister and Presidential Delegate for Entrepreneurship in Senegal, 
• Mohammed Yahya, UNDP Africa Regional Programme Coordinator, 
• Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, a former World Bank country director in Nigeria. Ms Marie-Nelly is currently the country director, Maghreb and Malta, Middle East and North Africa, World Bank.
• Olusegun Awolowo, CEO, Nigerian Export Promotion Council,

Leveraging the Agriculture Value Chain

Intervention of Mr. Gilles Patrick A. Viwanou Gnassounou, from Togo - Assistant Secretary General, African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP)