UBA Chairman partners with US Department of Commerce to enable entrepreneurship in Africa

folarin okunola

January 26, 2016 1:43 PM

Leading the 11-person delegation, along with representatives of various US trade and investment-focused agencies, was led by Honourable Penny Pritzker, the US secretary of commerce.

Tony Elumelu with US President, Barack Obama and others

According to various media reports, The Tony Elumelu Foundation and the United Bank for Africa (UBA) partnered with the United States Department of Commerce to host a panel and roundtable discussion between members of the US Presidential Council on Doing Business in Africa (PCDBIA) and a community of African entrepreneurs.

Leading the 11-person delegation, along with representatives of various US trade and investment-focused agencies, was led by Honourable Penny Pritzker, the US secretary of commerce.

The delegation visited Lagos as part of a fact-finding mission to help inform its upcoming report to President Obama on how to strengthen commercial engagement between the US and Africa.

READ: Tony Elumelu Foundation holds bootcamp for entreprenuers in Covenant University

American business leaders and Nigerian entrepreneurs were present at the event, titled “Unleashing Africa’s Entrepreneurs: Strengthening the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem to Empower the Next Generation of Africa’s Business Leaders”, to discuss challenges, solutions and innovations in the current African business environment.

"President Obama believes, as I do, that the American private sector, working in partnership with the African business community, and African entrepreneurs can help address many of the continent’s most pressing challenges, including creating jobs and opportunity for young people across the continent," said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. "I am proud to lead our Administration’s effort to support and empower aspiring entrepreneurs, both in the United States and across the globe.”

The event was hosted by Tony Elumelu, UBA chairman, through his foundation, and expressed his gratitude for the collaborative approach which the council and the US department of commerce are taking in engaging local entrepreneurs as part of their deliberations.

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