Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs to Receive Tech Support from Microsoft

Posted by African Examiner African News, Business News, Latest Headlines, Uncategorized Wednesday, September 20th, 2017

Photo: L-R – Philanthropy & CSR Lead MSFT Nigeria, Sola Amusan; Director, Group Marketing and Corporate Communications, Heirs Holdings, Pelumi Fadairo ; GM Microsoft Nigeria, Akin Banuso; CEO Tony Elumelu Foundation, Parminder Vir; Marketing and Operations Director Microsoft Nigeria, Ade Ajayi, during an MOU signing between the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Microsoft.

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(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Microsoft, through its 4Afrika Initiative, has collaborated with the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) to provide entrepreneurs in the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme with technology-based tools, resources and mentorship. Through this support – which will benefit TEF entrepreneurs across the continent – the two organisations will help entrepreneurs effectively use ICT to modernise their businesses, enrich their offerings and reach new customers.

“Microsoft 4Afrika and the Tony Elumelu Foundation share a common goal to accelerate economic and social development by promoting entrepreneurship,” says Akin Banuso, General Manager, Microsoft Nigeria. “As we enter into an era of digital transformation, it’s vital that we help all entrepreneurs develop relevant technology skills and integrate ICT into their businesses. Technology can help SMEs reach customers outside their local markets, generate powerful business insights and improve their customer retention. We have found that SMEs who adopt this kind of modern IT have seen 15% faster revenue growth than those not using it.”

Microsoft 4Afrika will provide TEF entrepreneurs with:

Access to cloud-based software, online support and technology through BizSpark
Access to information and markets through the Biz4Afrika platform, where SMEs can trade with similar-sized organisations
Technical training on Microsoft technologies and platforms during the 2017 TEF Forum
Online business and technology training through the Microsoft Virtual Academy, to support entrepreneurs through their start-up, growth and acceleration phases
Access to Microsoft experts for virtual and in-person mentorship through theMySkills4Afrika programme
Access to the Interns4Afrika programme

“Every year, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme provides 1,000 entrepreneurs with business training, mentoring, access to seed capital funding and membership into the TEF Africa-wide Network,” says Parminder Vir OBE, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation. Through this partnership, we are supporting each other’s mission to enable Africa’s entrepreneurs to drive their businesses forward.”

In addition, Microsoft will also identify high potential entrepreneurs from the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme and integrate them into its Innovation Grant Programme.

During the MOU singing at Microsoft headquarters, one TEF Entrepreneur already benefitting from the partnership, Adeniyi Olayemi said: the training I received through the Foundation helped me to refine my business idea and then produce a successful proposal, then once we received access to Microsoft’s Azure software, I was able to close on a deal.”

Since 2013, the Innovation Grant Programme has provided financial support to over 55 local start-ups, who have since generated $5.1 million in reciprocal investments.

About Microsoft

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the leading platform and productivity company for the mobile-first, cloud-first world, and its mission is to empower every person and every organisation on the planet to achieve more.

About The Tony Elumelu Foundation

Established in 2010, The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is the leading philanthropy in Africa championing entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs across the continent. The Foundation’s long-term investment in entrepreneurship is emblematic of Tony Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions Africa’s private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the continent. The Foundation’s flagship initiative, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train mentor and fund 10,000 entrepreneurs, capable of changing the face of business across Africa.www.tonyelumelufoundation.org @tonyelumeluFDN.