Billionaire industrialist, Tony Elumelu, has explained why he initiated the $3.5 million green entrepreneurship program.
Elumelu stated through his official Twitter on Friday tweeted that he embarked on the initiative in order to lessen the effects of the climate crisis.
He stated that the UNICEF, Generation Unlimited, and IKEA Foundation had joined forces with the Tony Elumelu Foundation in order to launch the program.
Elumelu claimed that the initial $3.5 million will be used to empower, educate, support, and coach 120 young African entrepreneurs who operate in Kenya’s high-impact green industries stating that 50% of the entrepreneurs will be women.
“This initiative will provide young Africans the business skills they need to hasten the transition to the green economy. We will work with great partners like the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF, and Generation Unlimited to improve livelihoods, provide employment, fight poverty, and solve climate challenges in Africa.”
Elumelu went on to say that the program’s partners share the common objective of helping young African entrepreneurs create sustainable businesses for themselves and marketable green jobs so that the continent’s youth are not left behind in the world’s impending transition to a green economy.
He emphasized that Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia have all been devastated by the region’s worst drought in 40 years, which has claimed up to 36 million lives.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change stated in November 2022 that wind erosion had swept away homes and crops in Northern Nigeria. As a result, the effects of desertification, overgrazing, drought, and deforestation have increased.
Cities in Southern Nigeria are being destroyed by flash and seasonal flooding brought on by climate change. Due to seasonal floods brought on by rising sea levels, residences and businesses in Lagos State are at risk. According to the National Emergency Agency, more than 500,000 people have been forced to leave their homes as a result of the flooding in 2022.
