THE HEART OF A TRUE AFRICANIST - TONY O. ELUMELU

African youths as it stands today, do not require a huge dose of motivation (alone). It has been proven time and again that they are reliably capable of undertaking huge adventures and inventions if and when directed on the right path.With the above fact stated, the question then becomes, "WHAT IS THE MAJOR NEED OF THE POWERHOUSE OF AFRICA - THE YOUTHS" 

An Africanist as I define it, is a person who has deep interest in Africa and Africans, who constantly seek ways to make it better. 
Right across Africa, there are a few africans who stand out knowing the need of the 21st century African youths and working assiduously and selflessly to meet it.
Here is a man who achieved most of his successes in his Thirties. He has come to the reality firstly that the YOUTHS are the powerhouse of any people and then, cannot be empowered by the government alone. His vision for empowering the african youths transcends his home country and cuts across Africa as a whole. He has and yet continues to invest heavily as an Africanist.

 Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu fondly called T.O.E for short, (born 22 March 1963 in Jos, Nigeria) is an economist by training, a visionary entrepreneur and a philanthropist. Tony is the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, theUnited Bank for Africa, Transcorp and founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. Elumelu holds the Nigerian national honours, the Commander of the Order of Nigeria (CON) and Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR). In 2011, New African magazine listed him as one of the 100 most influential people in Africa and a year later, he was recognized as one of "Africa's 20 Most Powerful People in 2012" by Forbes Magazine.

Following his retirement from United Bank for Africa in July 2010, Elumelu founded The Tony Elumelu Foundation. His stated objective was to "prove that the African private sector can itself be the primary generator of economic development." The Foundation is charged with the mission of driving Africa's economic development by enhancing the competitiveness of the African private sector. As a premier pan-African-focused not-for-profit institution,the Tony Elumelu Foundation is dedicated to the promotion and celebration of entrepreneurship and excellence in business leadership across the continent, with initiatives like the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP).

The Foundation deploy its resources to generate solutions to challenges that inhibit the growth of the African private sector. Through its commitment to catalytic philanthropy, the Tony Elumelu Foundation seeks to achieve its mission by enhancing the capacity of African businesses, supporting and driving policies that promote competitiveness, deploying financial capital through impact investments, and educating public and private sector actors through rigorous research.

Elumelu is the originator of the term Africapitalism. According to him, Africapitalism is an economic philosophy that embodies the private sector's commitment to the economic transformation of Africa through long-term investments that create both economic prosperity and social wealth. Elumelu sees Africans taking charge of the value-adding sectors and ensuring that those value-added processes happen in Africa, not through nationalisation or government policies, but because there is a generation of private sector entrepreneurs who have the vision, the tools and the opportunity to shape the destiny of the continent. He insists that Africapitalism is not capitalism with an African twist; it is a rallying cry for empowering the private sector to drive Africa's economic and social growth. 

Elumelu subscribes to Michael Porter's concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV). He studied under Professor Porter at Harvard Business School and Professor Porter is the Founding Patron of The Tony Elumelu Foundation. CSV refers to the idea that “companies must take the lead in bringing business and society back together.” It asserts that “businesses acting as businesses, not as charitable donors, are the most powerful force for addressing the pressing issues (society) face(s).”

The initiative, Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP), is inspired by Tony's 

• Inclusive economic philosophy of Africapitalism, based on the belief that a vibrant African-led private sector is the key to unlocking Africa’s economic and social potential,
• Commitment to drive African economic growth through the fostering of African entrepreneurship,
• Mission to institutionalise luck and create an environment where home-grown pan-African companies in various sectors can flourish.

With a vision to establish the pre-eminent pan-African entrepreneurship programme and create 10,000 start-ups across Africa within the next 10 years that generate significant employment and wealth.
Believing so much in entrepreneurship, Elumelu's foundation creates a pool where youths across the continent drop their ideas for business start-ups at the beginning of the year. A qualified team selects the best 1000 of these ideas and start them up with a seed capital of 10,000 US dollars and business MENTORING. While $5000 is meant to be paid back over a certain period of time in order to encourage determination and commitment, the other $5000 is a give away.
How thoughtful and dedicated can one be to the development of the Africa!

I, however, leave the ripple effect of this single act of empowerment to your imagination.

The African state is in high demand of men of such quality who will not just motivate its people by word of mouth, but will move them by his actions of moral support and financial empowerment. Men who are models worthy of being emulated by youths with broad hearts, ones who are willing and ready to export the excellent image of Africa.
Elumelu continues to demonstrate that wealth is not based on the money attached to one's name in the bank but, as a candle with light, how many candles one can light up successfully and yet inspiring them to light up many more.
Kudos to this Africanist, TOE!