Ooni of Ife honours 100 young Africans, launches ₦1 billion fund for businesswomen

The annual awards ceremony, now in its fourth year, celebrated exceptional young Africans who are making significant contributions to their communities and the continent at large.

This year's honorees, a distinguished group of 100 young leaders from 40 African countries, were recognised for their outstanding achievements across various fields, including entrepreneurship, politics, advocacy, technology, healthcare, and social impact. The awards ceremony, themed “Africa of the Future: Better Together,” took place on July 12 and 13, 2024.

As a testament to their commitment to experiencing the pinnacle of African ingenuity, the RAYLF 2024 awardees embarked on a special tour of the Dangote Refinery in Lagos State, Nigeria. This state-of-the-art refinery, the largest single-train refinery in the world, has been hailed as a game-changer for Africa's energy landscape.

The awardees were met by the Director of Construction and the Vice President of the Dangote Group, who provided insights into the refinery's groundbreaking technology and its potential to transform Nigeria's economy.

The tour was a powerful reminder of Africa’s potential and the transformative impact of visionary leadership. The young leaders were visibly impressed by the scale and complexity of the refinery, underscoring the continent’s growing capacity to undertake and complete mega-projects.

The RAYLF Awards and the Dangote Refinery tour stand as powerful symbols of Africa’s progress and the bright future that lies ahead for the continent.

Next on the tour was a visit to Abeokuta, the capital city of Ogun State where awardees held a town hall meeting with former president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. At the meeting, the former president, in his element, welcomed the young awardees who were visiting from other African countries and implored them to push themselves into leadership positions so they could influence policies in their different countries.

The awardees were also paid a visit by the governor of Ogun State, Governor Dapo Abiodun. The governor pledged his support to the group and donated 200 original copies of the bestselling Jonathan Paul Iv’s Built.

The group continued the tour by making their way from Abeokuta to Ile-Ife where they were hosted at a welcome dinner by the founder and host of the Royal African Young Leadership Forum (RAYLF), the Ooni of Ife.

Also at the dinner was the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Abubakar Abba Bello. He has over 30 years of experience in banking, where he has held senior management positions in corporate banking, regional and commercial banking, and public sector banking for more than a decade.

The awardees were very happy to listen as he shared his wealth of experience. At the dinner, he wholeheartedly announced that the bank would provide funding and export consultancy to one of the awardees who is currently growing cassava to extract starch from it. This was greeted with a loud cheer from everyone present.

The day of the award proper began with a recitation of the national anthem, the Ife anthem, and the OAU anthem before the honorary guests were announced. On the guest list and seated with the Ooni of Ife as a special guest was the Minister of State for Youth Development, Ayodele Olawande, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Jamila Bio Ibrahim, and Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Charles Odii.

The event opened properly with a speech by the RAYLF president, Dr Shola Owonikoko, who extolled the vision of the Ooni of Ife, and how far the RAYLF had gone to inspire young people of African descent around the world.

Oba Ogunwusi, finally taking the podium, announced the founding of the Royal African Chamber of Commerce which he said would birth "African leopards" who he said through partnerships and networking would create businesses and endeavours that will define the rest of the century.

The event also saw the launch of a ₦1 billion fund called Women Owned Micro Businesses (WOMB) by the Ooni of Ife, and SMEDAN. Odii said, "The project is an initiative envisioned by His Royal Majesty, the Ooni of Ife, to train, fund, mentor, and support female entrepreneurs across Nigeria with access to local, regional, and global markets. SMEDAN is committed to providing the ₦1 billion fund to support the WOMB project."

The event ended after the awardees were fully inducted into the RAYLF and handed their signed certificates.