I have seen first-hand that to effectively tackle climate change within the African context we have to turn to the people it impacts most.
Too often our businesses have not created value on our continent or traded commodities for short-term profit instead of long-term investment. Fostering entrepreneurship, sustaining young entrepreneurs, who will grow businesses and create sustainable jobs, is a crucial pathway to achieving long-term climate solutions.
Since Tony Elumelu Foundation inception, it has empowered 20,000 entrepreneurs across 54 African countries, who have created 400,000 direct and indirect jobs and generated over $2.3 billion in revenue. We have provided access to business training to over 1.5 million young people.
Given the scale of the task, we partner with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the European Union (EU), and other partners to deepen our reach and impact. We provide funding, mentorship, business training, and advocacy support to entrepreneurs—specifically, in fragile regions, conflict zones, and underserved communities.
Together, we address challenges such as youth unemployment, poverty, and insurgency through entrepreneurship. In 2022, we partnered with Unicef Generation Unlimited (GenU) and IKEA Foundation, to launch a Green Entrepreneurship Program that empowers youth whose businesses address the triple planetary crisis.
By empowering young people, we are establishing a dynamic engine that drives economic growth and development across Africa. These entrepreneurs also become vital pillars of support within their communities.
They are not only creating essential jobs and income, but also uplifting families and breaking the cycle of poverty. And now, more than ever, is the time to bring a climate-lens to this entrepreneurship.
Africa is warming more quickly than the rest of the world. By 2030, an estimated 118 million Africans are projected to face drought, and rising sea levels threaten coastal regions, potentially displacing millions. Climate change is impeding access to basic necessities: water, power, food, and education.
But these challenges also offer extraordinary opportunities for those with an entrepreneurial mindset to tackle climate change, while simultaneously creating significant economic value.
Global warming is not an inevitable fate. Entrepreneurs are inherently problem solvers; they possess the curiosity to explore opportunities and challenges, the creativity to devise innovative solutions, and the determination to transform obstacles into successes. Youth entrepreneurship can be a solution to averting the looming crisis of climate impact. It’s time to harness this power.
For instance, how can we enhance the sustainability of smallholder farmers, which comprise 80 percent of all farms in Sub-Saharan Africa and employ 60 percent of the continent's workforce? What strategies can be employed by African nations with vast forests—such as Gabon, Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and Congo—to effectively leverage these critical carbon sinks?
To unlock the full potential of green solutions in Africa, we must nurture entrepreneurship—and this cannot be achieved by governments alone.
We need to integrate government incentive schemes, with the opportunities presented by the private sector. It is imperative that we unite philanthropies, policymakers, and businesses. I refer to this movement as “Africapitalism”—a call for partnership led by the private sector, focused on fostering prosperity for all.
The writer is Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Chairman, UBA Group
