McEva Temofe: Why I Founded African Economic Merit Awards

Mary Nnah

The President/Founder, African Economic Merit Awards (AEMA), Mr. McEva Temofe, has given the reasons why he came up with such laudable initiative. According to him, “This is a platform built on merit to pioneer growth for Africans and give Africa an economic face lift.”

“We seek to recognise, encourage and charge established individuals, corporate and governmental bodies on the importance of driving economic growth in Education, Agriculture, Health and Technology with the view to reaching out not only to the grassroots but also to improve the standards of living of all Africans”, he noted.

Explaining further, he said, “The rate of entrepreneurship in Africa is on the rise on a daily basis. The numbers of unemployed youth in the continent keep rising for less creation of jobs. With a majority of African nations diversifying from traditional sources of income, entrepreneurship is increasingly seen as a key to economic growth.”

He said that so far, entrepreneurship has yielded huge returns for entrepreneurs, adding, “According to experts, there lies great untapped potential to drive the African continent into its next phase of development.”

Temofe said therefore that the African Economic Merit Awards is beyond an award and far from rewarding undeserved Africans.

“According to the African Economic Outlook report, Africa is the world’s youngest continent, with 60% of the Africa’s population under 25. For me, I consider this as the most active race on earth.”

“Where there are able-bodied young people, the economy would thrive, if the economy is not working, check the foundation of the leadership.”

He noted further that, “Africa has the youngest population in the world, with an estimated of over 220 million people between the ages of 15 and 24.” He observed however that despite a faster economic growth over the past decade, many young people still struggle to find employment opportunities within the continent.

He posited therefore that unless these young people can find meaningful work, the demographic dividend can easily turn into mass frustration and unrest.

“In light of this revelation, entrepreneurship has been identified by AEMA as an important vice in creating jobs across the continent”, he noted.

AEMA, Temofe said would encourage and stimulate the international business community to power growth in the grassroots and to adopt ethical business/entrepreneurial standard and raise awareness among business leaders and employees by recognizing local creative and productive minds. This platform, he explained father, encourages and appreciates successful entrepreneurs, NGOs with massive live impact and promote African business and project African work.

“For entrepreneurship to strongly impact Africa’s economy, governments, individuals, successful businesses must tackle some of the greatest challenges that impede its progress, including lack of funds, relevant mentorship and poor government policies”, he added.