The ECOWAS Commission and the Tony Elumelu Foundation have entered into an agreement to support Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises in the areas of financing, best practices, capacity building and access to regional and international markets.

The Memorandum of Understanding is expected to run for a period of two years and will allow both organisations to leverage their respective capacities and sharpen their focus on entrepreneurship as a tool of development.

Speaking at the ECOWAS Secretariat in Abuja during the signing ceremony, the President, ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Marcel De Souza, said the initiative would help to improve the lives of the younger generation by assisting them to create wealth and reduce the level of unemployment.

He said both organisations were also expected to use the pact to advocate for improvement in the enabling business environment for the MSMEs through joint organisation of workshops along sectoral lines to stimulate investments.

Also speaking, the Founder, TEF, Mr. Tony Elumelu, commended the ECOWAS Commission for creating the platform for the partnership, adding that the provision of seed capital to young entrepreneurs needed to be encouraged to enable the continent address the challenges of unemployment and poverty.

He said, “I am convinced by the fact that collectively, caring Africans can help deal with the challenges of unemployment and poverty by helping our young ones to develop their ideas, and realise their dreams,” he said.