Tony Elumelu Foundation launches inaugural GEP with USD$3.5mln

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]erial entrepreneur and the founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony Elumelu, has announced the launch of Green Entrepreneurship Programme, GEP, with an initial sum of USD$3.5 million.

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The programme, which is in partnership with UNICEF, is targeted at mitigating the negative effect of climate crisis in African communities.

According to quick-witted Elumelu,the initiative will empower young Africans with entrepreneurial skills.

In my OP-ED on the Cop27 climate negotiations in Egypt, I emphasised the daily negative impact of the climate crisis on communities across the African continent and highlighted the impending famine in east Africa as an example. READ HERE.
Today, I am pleased to announce that the
@TonyElumeluFDN is taking further action to strengthen climate resilience starting with East Africa, and scaling to the rest of Africa, to mitigate the effects of the climate crisis.
Alongside our partners at @UNICEF @GenUnlimited_ and @IKEAFoundation, we have just launched an inaugural Green Entrepreneurship Programme with an initial sum of USD$3.5 million, to empower, train, fund, mentor, coach and capacitise 120 young African entrepreneurs in this pilot phase – 50% of which will be women – with businesses in Kenya’s high-impact green sectors.
We know the critical role that green entrepreneurship and agripreneurship play in driving innovative solutions to environmental issues and are keen to empower our young ones across Africa, starting with Kenya, to deploy innovative solutions to the climate crisis.
This initiative will empower young Africans with entrepreneurial skills that are needed to accelerate the shift towards a more sustainable economy. This partnership with @IKEAFoundation; the second most funded foundation in the world, and @UNICEF @GenUnlimited_ will create new jobs, generate employment, improve livelihoods, help to eradicate poverty and address climate issues in Africa.
Our collective goal in this tripartite is to see young entrepreneurs in Africa build sustainable businesses for themselves and generate viable green jobs, so that our young ones are not left behind in the shift towards a greener economy that the world will transition to.
Climate change is not just a threat to the future, it is also a threat to the present and there is no time to wait for climate action in Africa.
Thank you to @UNICEF @GenUnlimited_ and @IKEAFoundation, for believing in the future of young Africans and green economy for Africa.

Rtn. Victor Ojelabi

Ojelabi, the publisher of Freelanews, is an award winning and professionally trained mass communicator, who writes ruthlessly about pop culture, religion, politics and entertainment.