Afreximbank, grand Africa initiative empower youth entrepreneurs

Towards empowering African youths across the continent, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced its collaborative effort with the Grand Africa Initiative (GAIN) through a grant aimed at facilitating the training of 300 young African entrepreneurs.

The GAIN-Afreximbank Masterclass on Entrepreneurship and Intra-African Trade has been meticulously designed to equip young African entrepreneurs from various regions of the African continent with essential skills to foster the growth and expansion of their enterprises beyond their individual national borders.

The comprehensive six-week training programme which will focus on entrepreneurship and intra-African trade with the aim to enhance inclusivity in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) by offering interventions that specifically support young Africans, women, and small and medium-sized enterprises is set to commence this month of March 2024.

According to the organisers, participants will gain valuable insights into how to build and expand their businesses leveraging the intra-African Market. Participants will receive technical guidance, practical training, and business advisory from a faculty of international experts.

Interested individuals are encouraged to submit their applications through the official programme website at www.GrandAfrica.org. Prospective entrepreneurs will be selected from across Africa and are required to meet the following criteria:
. Must be between age 20 to 45 years old
. Must be a registered business entity.
. Must be of African descent
. Must have a business in Africa
. Must have a business that has been in operation for a minimum of two years.
. Must have access to a stable internet connection and electricity.
. Have a good knowledge of the English Language.

The Director, AU/AfCFTA Relations and Trade Policy, Afreximbank, Yusuf Daya, emphasised the crucial importance of capacitating young African entrepreneurs to take full advantage of the opportunities availed by the AfCFTA.

He said: “Our renewed support to the GAIN Masterclass underscores the Bank’s efforts to develop skills of African youth and build African entrepreneurial capacity under the Afreximbank Academy (AFRACAD). We look forward to an even more successful program in 2024 following the highly impactful masterclass in 2022 which helped build the capacity of 200 entrepreneurs from across the continent”.

The Partnership Lead at GAIN, Jerry Ojima Momoh who expressed his enthusiasm, said, “This marks the fifth edition of GAIN Entrepreneurship masterclass series designed to empower African youths. We have two series so far focused on training women and three series now open to both male and female. We are happy to have this partnership with Afreximbank again this year to provide invaluable entrepreneurial support to young entrepreneurs. In 2022, we trained participants from 29 countries across Africa.

Beyond the training, participants will gain in-depth knowledge, build connections, and access mentorship from experienced global mentors, all of which will have a successful impact on their business growth.”