The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, will on Wednesday, 9 October 2019 speak at a joint forum organised by the Finnish Presidency and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) in Brussels, Belgium on Wednesday.

This was disclosed in a release on the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s website.

The CEO, who will moderate a panel of high-level EU decision-makers, AU Commission representatives and senior experts at the joint forum organised by the Finnish Presidency and the BMGF, was also expected to join the Vice-President of Nigeria, Yemi Osinbajo, Norwegian Foreign Affairs  Minister, Ine Eriksen Soreide and Deputy President of the Republic of South Africa, David Mabuza, at the 9th Nordic African Business Summit, in Oslo.

“The BMGF Forum which is aimed at decision-makers will shape development policies in the European Union (EU), particularly its relationship with Africa.

“It will explore the common challenges – security, climate change, inequalities, and demography – that Europe shares with Africa as a result of their historical, geographical and economic ties and how strategically increasing funding for “human capital”, the health and education of young people can arrest these challenges.”

Ms Ugochukwu is also expected to share the challenges of the African youth population and the work of the Tony Elumelu Foundation in overcoming those challenges as well as transforming the African continent through entrepreneurship.

Speakers at the Nordic-African Business Summit which is the Nordic region’s leading business conference together with an audience of over 400 delegates from more than 35 countries will hold a discussion under the theme “Better Business Together.”

The CEO is expected to draw on her experience as the CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, “citing its tried and trusted approach to philanthropy – empowering African entrepreneurs to create jobs and revenue on the continent.”

The Tony Elumelu Foundation has empowered 7,531 young African entrepreneurs across the African continent with business training, seed funding, mentorship and networking opportunities, creating economic hope and alleviating extremism and illegal migration challenges globally.