Africa's Young Entrepreneurs (A.Y.E), the World's largest
entrepreneurship network, with over 12.6 million members across Africa, has
appointed a top Public Relations practitioner, Olabode Opeseitan as its Public
Relations ambassador.
In a statement signed by A.Y.E's Regional Manager, Joy
Michael, the Johannesburg, South-Africa headquartered organization said
Opeseitan’s enormous continental PR experience will be harnessed to support the
promotion of one of the network’s fundamental goals of arousing the
entrepreneurial skills of young Africans and transforming them into a global
economic power house.
"Our focus at A.Y.E is the successful development of
Africa’s budding entrepreneurs through mutual networking in collaboration with
established captains of industry, government parastatals and international
organisations. We are delighted that Mr. Opeseitan identifies with A.Y.E's objectives
and has accepted to be our PR Ambassador, thereby using his decades of
experience in journalism, public relations, events and promotions to support
the bold agenda of A.Y.E to uplift Africa’s budding entrepreneurs," said
Michael.
In his acceptance remarks, Opeseitan congratulated the
A.Y.E for what he called its very noble objectives and thanked the organization
for considering him worthy of the honour, promising to use his knowledge and
extensive pan-Africa contacts to support “the virtuous and altruistic mission
of the group.”
Opeseitan who, with other like minds, founded SA&B, a
new fully integrated Marketing Communications company in August, 2017, had
worked at African Newspapers of Nigeria (ANN), the oldest privately-owned
newspaper in Nigeria where he rose to become the Editor of the Saturday edition
of ANN's publications and joined Globacom Limited in 2003, where he served in
various capacities, including the Director of PR, Events and Promotions until
July 2017.
In its mission statement, A.Y.E stated that it is
committed to empowering young entrepreneurs across Africa by creating platforms
that facilitate intra-trade on the continent. "We are dedicated to
developing the next generation of outstanding African entrepreneurs, who will
shape the economies and political landscapes of their home countries,"
said the A.Y.E Regional Manager.
Founded by Summy Smart Francis in 2010, A.Y.E is a
non-profit organisation based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It facilitates
intra-trade among African entrepreneurs in 20 African countries, United States
of America and the United Kingdom.
Earlier in the year, A.Y.E was declared as the largest
entrepreneurship network in the world by the Global Entrepreneurship Institute,
a global body based in Washington DC in the United States of America. The
institute said that in a systematic research process it conducted, the A.Y.E,
with over 12.6 million entrepreneurs, beat several other entrepreneurship
platforms around the world to emerge the largest global entrepreneurship
network.
Some of the entrepreneurship programmes organized by
A.Y.E include Harvest Africa, a program which showcases investment
opportunities in Africa; Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs Student Association
(AYESA); My Mentor & Me, an online mentorship platform; Web Business Campaign
(WBC), a platform where entrepreneurs showcase their businesses to angel
investors; and Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs Empowerment Program (AYEEP), a
program that identifies and empowers innovative entrepreneurs in Africa with
grants, equipment, loans, specialized training, business make-overs and
training. In 2016, the A.Y.E launched a reality TV show that showcases to the
world, through modern and traditional media, a diverse pool of interesting,
innovative and exceptional young entrepreneurs in Africa. The second season of
the program will be aired by over 10 TV stations in Africa from October to
December 2017.
The Organisation's Chief Executive Matron, Mrs. Folorunso
Alakija and the Patrons, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Asiwaju Bola
Ahmed Tinubu, among others, have been using their resources to promote
entrepreneurship in Africa.
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