Africa's Young Entrepreneurs

Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs

Founded	2010
Founder	Summy Smart Francis
Location	Johannesburg
Area served	Africa
Members	12 million
Key people	Summy Smart Francis (president) Ibada Ahmed (vice president) Folorunsho Alakija (chief matron) Asiwaju Bola Tinubu (chief patron)
Slogan	If you can achieve this much alone; how much more can we achieve together.
Website	www.ayeonline.org

Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (A.Y.E.) is a non-profit organization based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It facilitates intra-trade among African entrepreneurs in 19 countries. It is the largest Economic group in Africa with more than 12 million pan African members.^[1]

History

A.Y.E was founded by Summy Smart Francis, a Nigerian Entrepreneur, in 2010. After spending two years on researching and studying the African economy, the group started operations in 2012. ^[2]

Work

The organization holds conferences and funds startups through various competitions. It also works for researching and suggest ways to improve Africa's economy.

AYEEP

In 2014, the organization launched its Africa's Young Entrepreneurs Empowerment Program (AYEEP). AYEEP is a 3-day conference. As part of the program, several entrepreneurs present their business ideas after which some of the businesses are selected and funded by the organization. In 2014, the organization funded businesses with 50 million Nairas^[3] and in 2015 with 150 million Nairas.^[4]

AYESA

A.Y.E launched Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs Student's Association (AYESA) in 2015.^[5] The organization spent over $100,000 from internally generated revenue to research and launch AYESA.^[6] The inaugural conference of AYESA was held at the University of Lagos in December 2015. It presents young student entrepreneurs in need of experience, knowledge, mentorship and industry business skills with choice mentors from diverse business sectors in Africa.^[7]

Economic Development Team

In 2015, A.Y.E launched an Economic Development Team as part of the effort to improve the economy of African countries. The team works with federal as well as state governments in Africa to improve the growth of the continent.^[8] The group also works to facilitate investment opportunity for global entrepreneurs and investors.^[9][10]

References