Taking Entrepreneurship to Egypt: Parminder Vir, speaks at the Africa 2017 Forum
CEO, Parminder Vir represented the Tony Elumelu Foundation at the annual Africa Forum this week in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. Speaking in her first session on “Early stage startups: getting your project off the ground”. Parminder shared on the how the Foundation supports early stage businesses, taking them through the various stages of the programme and equipping entrepreneurs for greater success.
On sourcing for capital she said “There is no shortage of capital on the African continent, entrepreneurs need to position themselves, get training, mentorship and be a part of a network to access funding”
TEF Entrepreneurs shared their story in this session, Edmond Nonie of Track your build shared on the benefits of the programme “TEF programme helped me structure my business. This helped us to become solution providers aiding rescue efforts in Sierra Leone.”
In a second session on into Entrepreneurship Ecosystems, Parminder joined Ahmed Alfi of Leading Accelerator & Seed Investor in MENA, Noomane Fehri, CEO, B@labs, Tunisia, Segeni Ng’ethe, BRCK Ambassador, Kenya and Nnamdi Oranye, Founder, Disrupting Africa, South Africa.
She spoke extensively on benefits of the foundation and how through the impact of entrepreneurs from the programme, the foundation is changing the narrative of Africa and the way Africa is perceived.
Calling on investors to take advantage of the programme Parminder said “TEF has created a robust investment pipeline. Entrepreneurs need investment not just through funding but also in form of mentorship”
Africa 2017 Forum is a premier business platform to nurture new partnerships; meet investors and fast track your business objectives in Africa. Held under the high patronage of H.E. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi and is organized by the Ministry of Investment and International Cooperation of Egypt and the COMESA Regional Investment Agency (RIA).
The 2017 edition has been enhanced with exclusive Presidential Roundtables with Africa leaders and CEOs as well as a Young Entrepreneurs Day.