Lagos, 01/03/2023 – The newly appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, officially resumed office on the 1st of March 2023, following the retirement of the previous CEO, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu.
Somachi’s appointment was announced by the Board of Trustees of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries.
Speaking on the appointment, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR stated: “This is an important time for the Foundation and Africa. Our work is ever more important, and our platform is demonstrating our ability to truly catalyse change. We are increasingly working with partners, to magnify our impact. Somachi’s experience in partnership development will be particularly relevant. Somachi, as Director of Partnerships & Communications, has demonstrated strong leadership, commitment, and strategic thinking, in delivering the Foundation’s mission to transform Africa. She is the perfect candidate to build on Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu’s impactful contribution,”
“On behalf of the Board, I also thank Ifeyinwa, for her considerable achievements, significant sacrifice, and commitment to building and empowering the next generation of African business leaders. The Foundation, since its inception, has been led by a succession of dynamic and diverse CEOs, who have each brought passion, commitment, and innovation. As the tenure of Ifeyinwa draws to a close, I look back on the last five years and pay tribute to the impact she has made, first as Director of Partnerships, and later as the Chief Executive Officer,” he said.
Somachi takes charge of the overall development, implementation and execution of the Foundation’s overall operations, strategic marketing and corporate communications, policy and advocacy, and TEFConnect – Africa’s largest digital entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Prior to her appointment as CEO, Somachi was the Director of Partnerships and Communication, where she played a key role in mobilising partnerships that contributed to the Foundation’s scaled impact of directly funding over 18,000 African entrepreneurs with up to $100 million, who went on to create more than 400,000 direct and indirect jobs in their communities. These partnerships with private institutions, global development agencies and government bodies include organisations such as the European Union, United Nations Development Programme, the International Committee of the Red Cross, Google, and the United States Government, amongst others.
Upon resumption, Somachi shared her mandate for African entrepreneurs: “At the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we will be launching the Coalition for African Entrepreneurs, bringing together local regional and global partners to prioritise and empower additional entrepreneurs from all of Africa. My team and I commit to empowering more African entrepreneurs. My team will hold me accountable and so should you.”
The Application drive for the 2023 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is currently ongoing and open to African entrepreneurs with new start-ups and existing young businesses, operating in any sector across all 54 African countries. Prospective applicants should apply now on the digital networking hub for African entrepreneurs, www.tefconnect.net.