Recently, The Tony Elumelu Foundation raised the bar in philanthropy when it announced the successful entrepreneurs in its tenth selection for the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme. As the ovation for the foundation’s drive for entrepreneurship continues, Festus Akanbi writes on the exemplary leadership roles of Awele Elumelu and Somachi Chris-Asoluka, two women driving the foundation
At a period when it dawns on everyone that youth unemployment is becoming a monster that the government alone cannot tame, analysts said the authorities will always lean on the private sector to lend hands of assistance.
One such private sector organisation is the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which announced the successful entrepreneurs in its tenth selection for the TEF Entrepreneurship programme in March this year.
Indeed, the foundation has emerged as a key player in nurturing entrepreneurship in Nigeria and across Africa. Through its multifaceted initiatives, the foundation is instrumental in building a robust ecosystem that empowers individuals to pursue entrepreneurial ventures and drive economic growth.
The latest event brings to 20,000 young African entrepreneurs who have received funding, mentoring, and capacity-building support from the Foundation.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation has disbursed US$100,000,000 directly to young African entrepreneurs, who have created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing significantly to Africa’s economic growth and development. Interestingly, 45% of these beneficiaries are women, reiterating the Foundation’s commitment to gender inclusion and equity.
The Amazons
Although the success of the foundation is synonymous with the global acclaim and the undisputed entrepreneurial skill of the founder, Mr. Tony Elumelu, the fact is that in the drivers’ seats of the foundation are two amazing women. These amazons are the Co-founder of the TEF, Dr. Awele Elumelu, and the CEO, Somachi Chris-Asoluka.
With impressive resumes, it is obvious the duo were well prepared for the job- Mrs. Elumelu, a leading voice in the health sector in Africa with her commitment to the economic philosophy of Africapitalism, and Chris-Asoluka, who rose through the ranks in the foundation with impeccable records.
Awele Vivien Elumelu
Awele Elumelu’s pivotal role in the success of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) cannot be overstated. As the co-founder and a trustee, her visionary leadership and unwavering dedication have been instrumental in shaping the foundation’s impact and influence across Africa.
Dr. Elumelu has played a key role in defining TEF’s strategic direction, guiding its mission to empower entrepreneurs as catalysts for socioeconomic development. Her foresight and innovative thinking have propelled the foundation’s growth and relevance in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Reports said her hands-on approach to management and governance has ensured operational efficiency and effectiveness within TEF. The foundation has implemented robust systems and processes through her leadership to maximise impact and accountability.
It is also on record that Dr. Elumelu’s advocacy efforts have helped position TEF as a thought leader in entrepreneurship development. She has forged strategic partnerships with governments, corporations, and international organisations to amplify TEF’s impact and scale its African programmes.
Apart from being a trustee of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the leading philanthropy empowering entrepreneurs and championing entrepreneurship in Africa, Dr. Awele Elumelu, also serves as a Director on the Board of Heirs Holdings, a family-owned investment company committed to improving lives and transforming Africa.
Her uncommon investment in the healthcare sector no doubt prepares her for her role in TEF, which focuses on transforming lives in the African continent.
As the Chairperson of Avon Healthcare Limited, Nigeria’s leading health insurance provider, and the Founder/CEO of Avon Medical Practice, a growing network of full-service clinics and onsite facilities with corporate institutions, Mrs. Elumelu is focused on expanding and improving access to quality healthcare in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation.
Having identified poor health infrastructure, absence of medical equipment, and poor healthcare coverage as some of the challenges facing healthcare delivery in Nigeria, she established the two organisations to provide affordable medical insurance and services to Nigerians from all walks of life. This is helping to improve access to adequate and effective healthcare services in Nigeria.
In January 2018, Dr. Elumelu was appointed as a Private Sector Champion for Immunisation in Africa by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. In this role, she leverages her knowledge, corporate networks, and expertise from the healthcare and business sectors to champion vaccination and immunisation in Africa, where almost 10 million children are yet to be fully immunised.
Dr. Elumelu is particularly passionate about and advocates extensively for the rights of Africans, women, and children. In line with her commitment to the economic philosophy of Africapitalism, which calls on the African private sector to lead the charge in developing the continent, she continues to work to bring together public and private players to deliver economic opportunity, social good, and greater health and opportunity to all Africans.
She holds a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from the University of Benin. Her experience as a medical doctor includes medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics, gynecology, and emergency medicine. She has worked with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, and with Grantham and District Hospital Grantham in the United Kingdom.
Somachi Chris-Asoluka
Somachi Chris-Asoluka is the Chief Executive Officer of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Prior to becoming Chief Executive Officer of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Somachi served as Director of Partnerships and Communications for the Foundation. Under her leadership, the Foundation is increasingly sharing its unique ability to identify, train, mentor, and fund young entrepreneurs across Africa, through partnerships with institutions such as the EU, UNDP, ICRC, and US Government via the USADF, OACPS, AFD, DEG, GIZ, AfDB, and Google.
She is a Board Director of WINGS, a global network of over 190 philanthropy development and support organisations in more than 50 countries, committed to ensuring philanthropy reaches its fullest potential as a catalyst for social progress. She also serves as Treasurer and Chairperson of the Finance Board Committee of WINGS. She sits on the Advisory Board of the Michigan State University Alliance for African Partnership. She is a Deputy Champion of the World Economic Forum EDISON Alliance, and a member of Omicron Delta Epsilon (National Economics Honor Society, USA).
She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Saint Mary’s College of California with a Bachelor of Science in Economics and a minor in Mathematics, and received the Adam Smith Award, given to the highest-performing graduating student in Economics. She also has a Master’s in International and Development Economics from Yale University.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed nearly US$ 100 million in direct funding to over 20,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.
The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector and, most importantly, entrepreneurs as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent. The Foundation’s ability to fund, train, mentor, and network young African entrepreneurs have created a unique platform for catalysing growth across the African continent.
The robust ability of the Foundation to reach entrepreneurs across geographies and sectors has enabled it to conduct innovative partnerships with the European Union (EU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the US Government via the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the French Development Agency (AFD), the German Development Finance Institution (DEG), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and Google, with bespoke programmes including targeting female empowerment and growth in fragile states.
