He is a social and serial entrepreneur with vast experience in entrepreneurship development. He has developed and initiated several programs that were implemented in different parts of Africa geared towards the growth and development of African entrepreneurs. He studied Entrepreneurship in Emerging Economies from Harvard University and Creative Direction from AAA School of Advertising, Johannesburg, South Africa. He is the Special Adviser on Entrepreneurship Development to Ondo State Government, Nigeria and CEO of the Ondo State Entrepreneurship Agency (ONDEA), the first entrepreneurship agency in Nigeria. Summy Smart Francis is the Founder and President of Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (A.Y.E), the foremost entrepreneurship network in Africa with footprints in 20 countries across the continent.
Dr. Francis was the Director-General of the Empower Borno Project that focused on the economic re- development and empowerment for Borno State internally displaced persons, a project that received Global recognition as a catalyst solution to the economic challenges facing the people living in the IDP Camps of Borno State, Nigeria. He was the Executive Producer of one of Africa’s Biggest Entrepreneurial Reality TV Shows. The A.Y.E Reality TV Show gave African Entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business or ideas for funding and partnership aired live on both terrestrial and satellite TV Channels. He is the Chairman of SSF Investment, Executive Creative Director of MegaMindz Production and he sits on the board of several other companies and Organizations across Africa as a Non-Executive Director. He is the Chairman and Founder of the Entrepreneurs Trust Fund, an online innovative co-operative platform that provides a support structure for entrepreneurs and also promote savings and trust. Neophiliac by nature, Summy Smart Francis also established the world’s first entrepreneurship village, a haven for great innovation, creativity, collaboration, technology, and knowledge transfer for entrepreneurs.
A TEDx Speaker, Dr. Francis is the First Honorary Doctor of Entrepreneurship in Nigeria, he was recognized and awarded by TBUniversity Brooklyn, U.S.A. He is a recipient of several awards and certifications Globally. Dr Francis is a Visionary Leader, Continent Builder, Pan African, Philanthropist, and Creative Enthusiast. He lives daily by his mantra that says “I am Summy Smart Francis and I am nothing without God”