<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6017683443001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>The Tony Elumelu Foundation has unveiled the African entrepreneurs for the fifth cycle of its 100 million-dollar entrepreneurship programme. Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, incoming CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation joins CNBC Africa to discuss the plans for this year&#8217;s programme.</p>


Tony Elumelu Foundation unveil finalists for its 2019 programme

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=6008307172001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>Enterprise room is an organisation that assists government and companies to create and implement sustainable transformation programmes. Their aim is to advance small and medium-sized-black-owned businesses as well as encourage youth employment. Tracey Webster, CEO of Enterprise Room joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Enterprise Room’s Tracey Webster on creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs


<p><em>By Sandiso Sibisi, UNDP Open Innovation Africa Lead</em></p>



<p>Despite Africa’s impressive growth in past 25 years and its entry into the digital economy, the job market continues to be in a depressed state as youth unemployment continues to rise.Africa has the largest population of young people in the world, some 200 million aged between 15 and 24, accounting for 60% of all of Africa’s jobless.This is alarming to say the least because youth employment could drive economic development in Africa if we invest in them.</p>



<p>The question is “What step scan we take to address this?” Africa needs a way out of poverty and entrepreneurship may be key. It has the potential to create millions of jobs in Africa and youth entrepreneurs may bring about the positive change we urgently need. And although more and more youth are looking into entrepreneurship, there are many challenges facing this sector like the lack of access to information,finance, networking and mentoring. These four pillars are critical in modern-day entrepreneurship, as well as taking on a virtual presence in the digital economy.  Everything around us is connected and entrepreneurs need to embody the virtual world in order to be successful in smart cities of the future. But challenges relating to the four pillars in the virtual world need to be addressed in order to give Africa’s youth a fighting chance, </p>



<p><strong>Mentoring
</strong></p>



<p>Young entrepreneurs require mentoring and trust is a crucial element of this. In the past, this relationship would have been established over a period of time or through a structured mentoring process, which is more than a once-off event. But this is not how it works in today’s world.</p>



<p>Mentoring happens in the virtual world where it has become increasingly difficult to build trust without physical face to face interaction. Entrepreneurs are sceptical and unlikely to share details or sensitive information with a mentor on the internet without being able to trust that person first. </p>



<p><strong>Networking
</strong></p>



<p>Networking is standard practice for business professionals who want to establish contacts and relationships. It is a process that helps foster the exchange of information and ideas among individuals that share a common interest. Virtual networking is challenging because a growing number of business networks only want to support mature entrepreneurs rather than youth. </p>



<p>This has resulted in minimal opportunities for young entrepreneurs. There are a few fellowships with a virtual presence in Africa, but they are not enough for the kind of networking that is needed. </p>



<p><strong>Finance
</strong></p>



<p>Financial transactions are rarely done on a virtual platform. It requires a physical presence and face to face interaction. However, some initiatives that do have online support provide potential capital providers and this is extremely crucial because funding makes entrepreneurship possible.  </p>



<p><strong>Information</strong></p>



<p>Most youth entrepreneurship focused initiatives aim to provide information and advisory services of some kind, while virtual platforms provide specific information. Information tends to be outdated after a short period of time.</p>



<p>The challenges facing youth entrepreneurs in Africa are broad and varied, and this was precisely the reason why the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) decided to establish a virtual platform for entrepreneurs. The UNDP’s Regional Service Centre in Africa engaged Accenture, an innovative leader in digitalisation, to facilitate the implementation of a pan-African entrepreneurship portal called YAS (Youth for Africa and Sustainable Development Goals) to address the four main pillars for the betterment of Africa and its youth.  </p>



<p>The objective is to help young entrepreneurs move away from being jobseekers to becoming job creators. This is important because the United Nations estimates that by 2050, the world population will have grown by 2.2 billion people and half of them will be African. This population explosion will have far-reaching implications for Africa’s labour force, so it is important to look at the demographic make-up.</p>



<p>The youth are Africa’s greatest asset and we have an abundance of them. Youth employment has the capacity to drive economic development and it is therefore critical that all sectors work together to improve access to finance and skills so that these youth have the tools they need to build and develop a sustainable Africa. Can you imagine an Africa where 90% of our youth are employed? Can you imagine what this will do for economic growth? Can you imagine what Africa will look like if poverty did not exist? </p>


Op-Ed: Africa has a dire youth unemployment crisis, here’s how to fix it…

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5843270164001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>Joining CNBC Africa to talk entrepreneurship and using your success for a good cause is Founder and Executive Chairman of Afribiz Invest, Collen Mashawana.</p>


Afribiz Invest founder Collen Mashawana on tackling youth unemployment

<figure><img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/234301/original/file-20180830-195319-hw4ka2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip" alt="File 20180830 195319 hw4ka2.jpg?ixlib=rb 1.1" /><figcaption>Research suggests that women enterprises in Tanzania are shy to take up business loans.<br />
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</p>
<p></span></span></figcaption></figure>
<p>By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/vanessa-naegels-540468">Vanessa Naegels</a>, PhD researcher, <em><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/katholiek-universiteit-of-leuven-1712">Katholiek Universiteit of Leuven</a></em></p>
<p>With an annual <a href="https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?end=2017&amp;locations=TZ&amp;start=2013">GDP growth of 7%</a> since 2013, Tanzania is one of the fastest growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa. Much of this economic growth is driven by small and medium sized enterprises, more than half of which are <a href="http://www.fsdt.or.tz/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/MSME-National-Baseline-Survey-Report.pdf">owned by women</a>.</p>
<p>But, women-owned businesses in emerging economies like Tanzania often can’t grow because of a lack of financing.</p>
<p>The most important financing source for small businesses worldwide is debt. However, <a href="http://www.ilo.org/empent/areas/womens-entrepreneurship-development-wed/WCMS_430949/lang--en/index.htm">research</a> shows that many women entrepreneurs in emerging economies don’t hold formal loans such as bank and microfinance loans. Traditionally the assumption has been that this is caused by a lack of supply. But data points to a different answer.</p>
<p>A 2013 <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13691066.2017.1358927?journalCode=tvec20">survey</a> among women entrepreneurs in Tanzania showed that more than 80% of bank loan applications and more than 90% of microfinance loan applications had been approved. At the same time, only 18% of women entrepreneurs applied for bank loans and 28% for microfinance loans.</p>
<p>This suggests that a lack of demand instead of a lack of supply is to blame for the limited use of formal loans by Tanzanian women entrepreneurs. This is the result of borrower discouragement: women have negative beliefs with respect to bank and microfinance loans, which discourages them from applying.</p>
<p>In our <a href="https://limo.libis.be/primo-explore/fulldisplay?docid=LIRIAS1719250&amp;context=L&amp;vid=Lirias&amp;lang=en_US&amp;search_scope=Lirias&amp;adaptor=Local%20Search%20Engine&amp;tab=default_tab&amp;query=any,contains,staffnr_U0096673&amp;sortby=date&amp;offset=0">study</a> we set out to identify women entrepreneurs’ beliefs about bank and microfinance loans. We also explored where these beliefs originated from and exactly how they discourage women from borrowing. We interviewed 29 women entrepreneurs from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s largest city and economic capital.</p>
<p>We found that there are many different reasons why women entrepreneurs don’t apply, many of them interrelated.</p>
<h2>Lack of trust</h2>
<p>Most women we spoke to said they didn’t believe that loan officers discriminated against women. But they complained about the unattractive borrowing terms offered by banks. We heard stories of extremely high interest rates (up to 20% or even 30% annually) and collateral requirements.</p>
<p>Many women told us that they had no collateral. They either didn’t own a house or land or didn’t have their husbands’ permission to use them as collateral.</p>
<p>In addition, those who could use their houses as collateral didn’t want to risk losing them in the event of defaulting.</p>
<p>Entrepreneurs mentioned that high taxes as well as adverse economic and political conditions reduced their profits.</p>
<p>As a result, many feared that they would fail to pay back their loan and would then face harassment or abuse by loan officers.</p>
<p>Apart from unattractive borrowing terms and default risk, many argued that application processes were long and costly. One informant told us she couldn’t provide the extensive financial information required because she didn’t keep accounts.</p>
<p>And loan officers often requested bribes to speed up the process or bend requirements.</p>
<p>The women also complained about various types of inappropriate behaviour from loan officers. Two women mentioned that loan officers asked for sexual favours in exchange for a loan. Others blamed them for exploiting entrepreneurs’ lack of financial knowledge.</p>
<p>For example, women who do end up applying for loans don’t know that payments increase if they are late in paying back their loans, or that the bank has the right to sell their collateral.</p>
<p>We also heard stories of loan officers who visited women entrepreneurs in their businesses or even at home to convince them to take out a loan. One informant claimed that loan officers purposefully sought out entrepreneurs with valuable assets in the hopes of seizing them in case of default.</p>
<h2>Painful experiences</h2>
<p>Two mechanisms shape women entrepreneurs’ beliefs: personal experiences and stories from others.</p>
<p>Some informants applied for loans in the past and were rejected; others had trouble reimbursing their loan or experienced other problems such as corruption. Even if they’d had these experiences taking out informal loans, it nevertheless affected their beliefs about formal loans.</p>
<p>Stories of other people’s negative experiences with both formal and informal loans also shaped their beliefs. These stories either come from within the entrepreneur’s personal network or were passed on within the community.</p>
<p>Women entrepreneurs’ negative beliefs about formal loans give rise to negative attitudes. Some mentioned that getting a loan would reduce their freedom to run the business and use the money as they saw fit.</p>
<p>Because of their negative attitudes most women entrepreneurs said they didn’t intend to apply for a loan any time soon. One said that a bank or microfinance loan would be the last thing she would do to access money for her business.</p>
<h2>What needs to be done</h2>
<p>In the past policymakers have tried to address women-owned businesses’ lack of financing by increasing the supply of finance. But our research shows that this is addressing the wrong problem. In Tanzania women entrepreneurs aren’t deterred by a lack of supply. They don’t apply for formal loans for a host of reasons – most of them negative beliefs.</p>
<p>This is what needs to be changed. But that’s easier said than done.</p>
<p>Often, entrepreneurs’ beliefs are rooted in legitimate issues such as loan officers’ inappropriate behaviour. So it’s imperative that policymakers tackle problems such as corruption, harassment and abuse.</p>
<p>In other cases negative beliefs are probably the result of entrepreneurs’ lack of knowledge and low financial literacy. This can be mitigated by educating women entrepreneurs on how to keep accounts, how to invest loans and explanations on the relationship between interest and risk.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/102429/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /></p>
<p>This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-tanzanian-women-entrepreneurs-dont-apply-for-formal-loans-102429">original article</a>.</p>

Why women-owned businesses in emerging economies like Tanzania often don’t grow

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5823302246001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>With a majority of African nations diversifying from traditional sources of income, entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as a key to economic growth; Sean Drake, Founder and Entrepreneur of The Wealth Project joins CNBC Africa with seven secrets of what it takes for an entrepreneur to turn a business idea into reality.</p>


Business success secrets of entrepreneurs you need to know

<p>Justina Crabtree</p>
<p>Source: <a href="http://https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/21/china-state-led-growth-wont-work-in-africa-former-nigeria-finance-minister.html">China-style state-led growth won&#8217;t work in Africa, former Nigeria finance minister warns</a></p>
<ul>
<li>As ties between China and African countries continue to strengthen, former Nigerian Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has warned that Beijing-style economic governance will not work for Africa.</li>
<li>Corruption could result from increased government intervention in business, she said.</li>
<li>In her view, Nigeria&#8217;s &#8220;vibrant private sector&#8221; does not lend itself to state-led development.</li>
<li>But Ethiopia, an East African country with high percentage economic growth, has echoed Beijing&#8217;s state-led approach.</li>
</ul>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/14170224/105205401-GettyImages-511145528.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="George Osodi | Bloomberg"/></p>
<p>China has funneled billions of dollars into aid, loans and business deals on the African continent in recent years.</p>
<p>But as ties continue to strengthen, a former Nigerian finance minister has warned that Beijing-style economic governance will not work for Africa.</p>
<p>&#8220;China has been very helpful,&#8221; particularly with building much-needed infrastructure in Africa, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a two-time former finance minister in Nigeria, told CNBC on Wednesday.</p>
<p>But while less economically advanced countries may wish to emulate China&#8217;s economic success, the Chinese approach of state-led development would prove unsuccessful for the majority of Africa, she said.</p>
<p>&#8220;In most African countries, it has been shown that state-led growth — pure state-led growth — has really not worked,&#8221; Okonjo-Iweala said, citing the example of Nigeria&#8217;s &#8220;vibrant private sector.&#8221;</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/21210213/105217648-GettyImages-607950242.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Michael Nagle | Bloomberg | Getty Images"/></p>
<p>In her view, the Nigerian government, through state-owned enterprises, has not shown itself capable of managing its manufacturing and heavier industries, for example.</p>
<p>Corruption could result from increased government intervention in business, Okonjo-Iweala said. &#8220;Some of our governments, when they get into direct provision of jobs and services — that&#8217;s where corruption creeps in because it&#8217;s not well-handled, the institutions of state are not strong enough, the checks and balances are not strong.&#8221;</p>
<p>Okonjo-Iweala served as Nigeria&#8217;s finance minister twice, from 2003-2006 and most recently during 2011-2015 under previous President Goodluck Jonathan. She is a former director at the <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/10000939?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="><br />
<strong>World Bank</strong><br />
</a> and is currently an adviser at the Asian Infrastructure Development Bank.</p>
<h4>Where China-style economic management has worked</h4>
<p>Nonetheless, one African country known for its economic partnership with China is <a href="http://www.cnbc.com/id/105025472?__source=cnbcafrica|inline|story|&amp;par=cnbcafrica &amp;doc="><br />
<strong>Ethiopia</strong><br />
</a>. Infrastructure, as well as industrial parks to boost the manufacturing sector, have been built as part of Beijing&#8217;s Belt and Road Initiative, a multi-billion dollar spending plan to resurrect ancient trading routes centered on China.</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/21210218/105114303-GettyImages-144865686.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Jenny Vaughan | AFP | Getty Images"/></p>
<p>Ethiopia, an East African country that has seen double-digit gross domestic product (GDP) growth as recently as 2017, has echoed China&#8217;s state-led development style.</p>
<p>This approach &#8220;will only work in countries where the power is highly centralized,&#8221; Anna Rosenberg, research director at emerging market advisory firm Frontier Strategy Group, told CNBC on Friday. Besides Ethiopia, she cited Mozambique and Rwanda as suitable examples. Nigeria&#8217;s entrepreneurial society was less conducive to China-style economic management, she said.</p>
<p>History could also play a role, Rosenberg suggested. While Cold War allegiances to the Soviet Union may be present in some African countries, Nigeria, by contrast, is a former British colony and therefore more espoused to a free market system.</p>
<h4>China&#8217;s strategic partner</h4>
<p>&#8220;I think China sees Africa as a strategic continent that it wants to be a partner with,&#8221; Okonjo-Iweala said. &#8220;Africa does have the natural resources that China lacks in many ways.&#8221;</p>
<p>But, she added that in her view, this partnership extends beyond pure economic deals. &#8220;I believe strongly there is overarching political and soft power that is involved.&#8221;</p>
<p>For Okonjo-Iweala, it is important to demonstrate the fruits of African business deals with China to the public. She described Beijing-funded new airport terminals in the Nigerian capital Abuja as an example of this because &#8220;people will be able to see them, and witness them, and know that the money went into something concrete.&#8221;</p>
<p>Last week, China&#8217;s state-run news agency Xinhua reported that <a href="http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-05/16/c_137181714.htm">Nigeria had signed a deal with the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation</a> to build a railway from its economic hub Lagos to Kano, a commercial hotspot in the north of the country.</p>
<p>African countries must enter business deals with China &#8220;with our eyes open,&#8221; Okonjo-Iweala said, to capitalize on its manufacturing expertise and technological development.</p>
<p>Africa is in the process of expanding its manufacturing sector in an attempt to bolster economic development. Nigeria, as part of an attempt to wean itself off oil dependence, has grown its manufacturing base from just 2.5 percent of value added to GDP in 2009 to 8.8 percent in 2016, according to the World Bank.</p>
<p>But with regards to regulating Africa-China business deals, &#8220;we are absolutely not there,&#8221; Okonjo-Iweala said, although she added that this varied between African countries. Providing that fair and transparent agreements are drawn up, &#8220;we can work with China – why not?&#8221;</p>
<p><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cdn.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/21210223/103003792-GettyImages-466898688.1910x1000.jpg" alt="" height="1000" width="1910" data-licensor-name="Pius Utomi Ekpei | AFP | Getty Images"/></p>


China-style state-led growth won’t work in Africa, former Nigeria finance minister warns

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5712619906001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>CNBC Africa’s Christycole Popoola caught with Tony Elumelu and discussed the foundation’s new partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross.</p>


Tony Elumelu Foundation, Red Cross partner to empower Nigerian entrepreneurs

<p><em>Zandre Campos| ABO Capital</em></p>
<p>As Africa continues to prosper, it’s important to acknowledge the role that entrepreneurs play in driving the country forward. Entrepreneurship is a daunting undertaking, and through my own business ventures I know the challenges that anyone can face when looking to take that leap of faith. But it was – and continues to be – worth it. We need to make it worth it for those in Africa who also want to make that same leap into entrepreneurship.</p>
<p><div id="attachment_106420" style="width: 810px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-106420" class="wp-image-106420 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Africashutterstock_110973782.jpg" alt="" width="800" height="600" /><p id="caption-attachment-106420" class="wp-caption-text">Photo: Shutterstock</p></div></p>
<p>There has been a shift in the way that African countries are supporting those who are looking to start and lead businesses. As we can see in the Legatum Prosperity Index released in the <a href="https://www.li.com/activities/publications/2016-africa-prosperity-report"><em>2016 Africa Prosperity Report</em></a> by the Legatum Institute, seven of the top 10 countries ranked put an emphasis on entrepreneurship and opportunity. According to that same report, business startups have seen a decrease of costs by a third and the <a href="http://www.africaneconomicoutlook.org/en/theme/Entrepreneurship-and-industrialisation"><em>African Economic Outlook</em></a> found that 80 percent of Africans look at entrepreneurship as a “good career opportunity.”</p>
<p>It’s encouraging to see – but it shouldn’t stop there.</p>
<p>There is so much promise in Africa. Our countries have more young people growing up in a time when literacy rates are higher than ever and access to technology continues to flourish. Entrepreneurs will be the ones who change the way our economy operates and will use their creative spirit to do so.</p>
<p>The 2016 Africa Prosperity Report recommends that Africa “diversify the economy and manufacturing.” That can be achieved by opening doors for innovators who want to bring something new to the table. The Tony Elumelu Foundation just hosted more than 1,000 participants at its third-annual entrepreneurship forum. There’s even <em>A.Y.E. </em>or <em>Africa’s Young Entrepreneur</em>, a reality show in its second season that hopes to give a start to those with big ideas.</p>
<p>Young entrepreneurs with big ideas will diversify the African economy and manufacturing sector. Africa’s entrepreneurs are cunning, smart and are able to provide solutions to problems that plague our economy today – and might even be the solution for those problems that do not even exist yet. In order to prosper, we need to continue to support those who are willing and ready to take the leap and change our economic landscape for the better.</p>


Why Africa will be led forward by entrepreneurs

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5681856944001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>Policymakers across Africa aim to design initiatives with a focus on areas with direct impact on the business environment to promote entrepreneurship on the continent.</p>


Argon Asset Management Founder speaks on boosting cross-border trade in East Africa

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5679978809001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>According to Khami Alexander, Head of Global Marketing, Foreign Investment Network, entrepreneurship is all about risk-taking and African youths need mentors and experience. CNBC Africa caught up with her for more on this.</p>


Empowering Africa’s young entrepreneurs

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5653613620001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>One of the pillars of ACT foundation, a grant making non-profit organisation is entrepreneurship and leadership but what are the challenges and opportunities with building effective entrepreneurs in Nigeria?</p>


What every Nigerian entrepreneur must know to succeed in business

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 730px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5653505819001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>The Chairman of First Bank&#8217;s board of directors, Ibukun Awosika says empowering entrepreneurial knowledge is key to championing the growth of entrepreneurship and job creation in Nigeria.</p>


Why empowering entrepreneurs is essential to Nigeria’s economy

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 640px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5626807360001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>Babs Ogundeyi, founder of kudimoney.com joins CNBC Africa to discuss the role that tech start-ups could play in Nigeria’s economy.</p>


Tech start-ups to play crucial role in Nigeria’s growth story – Expert

<p><em>The recent WCA Executive Investment </em><em>Summit 2017 is a case in point of how well it works when we put innovators and investors together – and also how much change African women are making for our continent.</em></p>
<p><div id="attachment_287487" style="width: 2058px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-287487" class="wp-image-287487 size-full" src="http://cnbc.africa/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Investment_pexels-photo.jpg" alt="" width="2048" height="1400" /><p id="caption-attachment-287487" class="wp-caption-text">Image: Pexels</p></div></p>
<p>By Nnamdi Oranye</p>
<p>Lisa Lambie is one of the most inspiring African women I have had the privilege of meeting. She is truly making a difference for Africa and African innovators and bringing her twenty years (plus) experience to our continent to help form and change our narrative, creating opportunities and networking the right people together.</p>
<p>I recently returned from the WCA Executive Investment Summit 2017, which has been running for four years now (this year, it also included the second Africa Family Office Forum). It was held in Marrakech, Morocco.</p>
<p>What is interesting about the Summit, and what has been key to its successes, is that it successfully manages to do something that I’ve seen sorely lacking in many other instances – connecting actual innovators together with actual investors on a Pan-African scale.</p>
<p>On average, Lambie says, more than 300 executives from around 32 countries come. Of those, 80 percent are investors and 88% percent of them are on an executive level. It’s essentially an investment summit.</p>
<h4>Summit brings together family-owned offices</h4>
<p>This year it also sought to collate and bring together Family Offices. This is a term that&#8217;s new to many, but are essentially investment vehicles consisting of the private capital of families. Family Offices have been a key driver in African economies.</p>
<p>The website, <a href="http://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/family-offices.asp">Investopedia</a>, puts it well when it says, “They are different from traditional wealth management shops in that they offer a total outsourced solution for managing the financial and investment side of an affluent individual or family.” Essentially, they sit in the space of Angel Investment.</p>
<p>The Summit was all about getting these Family Offices, and the individuals involved with them, to talk about investing in Africa.  It sought to bring family capital and industry innovators, award-winning entrepreneurs, and sector game changers together directly &#8211; without advisors like wealth managers and private bankers playing a role.</p>
<p>The reason for this is it creates an openness with the Family Offices you might otherwise not see. I was really excited about the prospect and the buzz at the conference. it was clear to me that there were real, authentic, and valuable connections being made, which can often be lacking at a conference.</p>
<p>This was also fascinating for me because I work so much with innovators, and attend many conferences with innovators, where the predominant theme is frequently a lack of funding or access to the people with funding. It was so exciting, this time around, to see how those with the ability to fund are looking for spaces to put their money. As I was sitting in this Summit, and talking on two panels, I just kept thinking about innovators I work with and saying, “All we need to do is put all of these people in the same room – the innovators and these investors. They literally just need to talk to each other. It works.”</p>
<h4>It&#8217;s all about action</h4>
<p>Lambie has had the tremendous foresight in putting this together and creating a Summit where people don’t just talk but actually convene and make deals. This is why for the four years it has been running, it has managed to garner a brilliant reputation for delivering actual tangible results. It’s not just another conference. It’s not just a lot of talking. It’s not just motivational. It’s about action. It’s not organised by event planners but by actual investors.</p>
<p>The Summit is run by the Wharton Club of Africa (WCA), of which Lambie is the president. With ties to the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania (in the U.S.), it’s fascinating to see how Lambie and her team have brought their vast experience and connections to our continent to make a change.</p>
<p>Lambie is also a Director at SHIL, an investment holding firm that works with Family Offices and family-owned businesses in Africa, as well as venture capital. In my book, <em>Taking on Silicon Valley: How Africa’s Innovators Will Shape Its Future</em>, I argue how Africans working abroad can make a difference to our continent here. Lambie is a perfect example of this, and I was struck by her passion and forward-thinking approach. When we talk about Disrupting Africa and changing the narrative or people knowing their change (see the #knowyourchange campaign), everyone plays their part and is a piece of the puzzle in getting Africa where it needs to be.</p>
<h4>Everyone plays their part</h4>
<p>When we talk about Disrupting Africa and changing the narrative or people knowing their change (see the #knowyourchange campaign), everyone plays their part and is a piece of the puzzle in getting Africa where it needs to be. Lambie, and others like her (such as Haweya Mohamed, who I had the privilege of meeting at the Afrobytes Conference in Paris earlier this year – which connects European investors with African innovators) is a very crucial piece of this puzzle. She brings investors together and shows them that we have viable innovations they can invest in. This is simply fantastic.</p>
<p>Not enough of us speak about what African women are doing and the change they are creating. Brilliant examples such as Lambie and Mohamed are not in the news enough, and so much happens under the surface that doesn’t make the headlines. Our women are doing phenomenal work that we&#8217;re not recognising well enough. But if we do, imagine how much more could happen.</p>


Op-Ed: Tangible results when investors and innovators collaborate

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 640px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5615787900001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>The cost of studying further makes the idea of sending them to Universities a daunting one and some may want to consider steering them towards entrepreneurship.Johan Coetzee, Gap Half Year Programme Manager, Raizcorp joins CNBC Africa for more.</p>


Turning matriculants into entrepreneurs

<div style="display: block; position: relative; max-width: 640px;">
<div style="padding-top: 56.25%;"><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0px; bottom: 0px; right: 0px; left: 0px;" src="//players.brightcove.net/1571595826001/default_default/index.html?videoId=5549003033001" allowfullscreen="" border=0 frameborder=0></iframe></div>
</div>
<p>It&#8217;s Wealth Smith Wednesday with our new feature, where we invite industry leaders, entrepreneurs and newsmakers to discuss key issues. On the agenda today is how improving infrastructure can better link African cities and regions.</p>


entrepreneurship

Tony Elumelu Foundation unveil finalists for its 2019 programme

Enterprise Room’s Tracey Webster on creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs

Op-Ed: Africa has a dire youth unemployment crisis, here’s how to fix it…

Afribiz Invest founder Collen Mashawana on tackling youth unemployment

Why women-owned businesses in emerging economies like Tanzania often don’t grow

Business success secrets of entrepreneurs you need to know

China-style state-led growth won’t work in Africa, former Nigeria finance minister warns

Tony Elumelu Foundation, Red Cross partner to empower Nigerian entrepreneurs

Why Africa will be led forward by entrepreneurs

Argon Asset Management Founder speaks on boosting cross-border trade in East Africa

Empowering Africa’s young entrepreneurs

What every Nigerian entrepreneur must know to succeed in business

Why empowering entrepreneurs is essential to Nigeria’s economy

Tech start-ups to play crucial role in Nigeria’s growth story – Expert

Op-Ed: Tangible results when investors and innovators collaborate

Turning matriculants into entrepreneurs

Integrating Africa through infrastructure development

News Tips

Advertise With Us

entrepreneurship

Tony Elumelu Foundation unveil finalists for its 2019 programme

Enterprise Room’s Tracey Webster on creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurs

Op-Ed: Africa has a dire youth unemployment crisis, here’s how to fix it…

Afribiz Invest founder Collen Mashawana on tackling youth unemployment

Why women-owned businesses in emerging economies like Tanzania often don’t grow

Business success secrets of entrepreneurs you need to know

China-style state-led growth won’t work in Africa, former Nigeria finance minister warns

Tony Elumelu Foundation, Red Cross partner to empower Nigerian entrepreneurs

Why Africa will be led forward by entrepreneurs

Argon Asset Management Founder speaks on boosting cross-border trade in East Africa

Empowering Africa’s young entrepreneurs

What every Nigerian entrepreneur must know to succeed in business

Why empowering entrepreneurs is essential to Nigeria’s economy

Tech start-ups to play crucial role in Nigeria’s growth story – Expert

Op-Ed: Tangible results when investors and innovators collaborate

Turning matriculants into entrepreneurs

Integrating Africa through infrastructure development

News Tips

Advertise With Us

Newsletters