The co-founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Dr Awele Elumelu, has revealed that over 8,000 women have been empowered by the foundation in 54 African countries in 10 years.
She stated that the figure represented 46 per cent of the total number of entrepreneurs empowered by the foundation so far.
Dr. Elumelu , made the disclosure during her keynote address at the recent 2024 Women Directors Conference of the Chartered Institute of Directors of Nigeria held in Lagos.
The event was themed, ‘Leading in a Disruptive Age: Opportunities in Emerging Technology, DEI & ESG”.
She noted that as a co-founder of the foundation, she had seen the impacts of equipping women.
“I am glad to say that 10 years later, we have funded over 8,000 women-owned businesses in 54 African countries. That is an impressive 46 per cent of the total number of entrepreneurs we have funded on our continent.
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“We have seen that truly when you empower a woman, you empower the nation,” she said.
According to Elumelu, the foundation is committed to empowering and uplifting young African entrepreneurs across all African countries, both men and women.
“When we first commenced with the first round of applications, we had very few women. Less than a fraction of one-third were women.
“What we do in the foundation is identify these young Africans with business ideas, train them, mentor them, and give them a non-refundable $5,000 for their businesses,” she stated.
She noted that the foundation understood the importance of women’s empowerment and inclusion and made efforts to ensure women benefitted from its funding.
She emphasised that on average, the female beneficiaries of the foundation reported making slightly more profit from their business than male beneficiaries in a typical month in the past year.
