The US African Development Foundation (USADF) in partnership with the Citi Foundation and the US Department of State is hosting the 2018 youth entrepreneurship summit in Nairobi. Led by expert facilitators, the three-day event, which started on Monday, provides platform for networking, cross-sector collaboration, skills building sessions among the top 50 young Africans social entrepreneurs from different countries.
At a media briefing, C.D. Glin, the president and CEO of USADF said the organisation has committed its time to fully support young entrepreneurs focusing on agriculture.
“USADF invests in young entrepreneurs as they build their businesses and improve livelihoods in their communities,” he said. “Equipping young people to be a part of Africa’s growth is vital to African economic development needs. These young business leaders are part of a generation that will drive the growth and prosperity of the entire continent.”
Citi cluster head for East Africa Ms Joyce Ann Wainaina said Citi had showed commitment in programmes that generate economic development in Africa since 1920. “We carry out programmes that generate economic progress in the region through high impact regional and local initiatives with focus on young adults and women.
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The Citi Foundation’s pathways to progress initiative is working with the US African development Foundation to provide young entrepreneurs with business support services and access to seed capital needed to cultivate their businesses,” she said.
According to Mr Glin, USADF has so far supported over 200 entrepreneurs from 30 different countries with grants to make their dreams a reality. “We have very talented entrepreneurs across the continent and so far we have given them grants of over 40 million dollars to enable them bring their innovations to reality,” he added.
The USADF-Citi Foundation partnership currently serves young entrepreneurs from DRC Congo, Kenya, Nigeria,Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.
