… to empower 1,200 in 10th Cohort Entrepreneurship Programme
By Juliet ETEFE
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), a leading philanthropy empowering young Africans has funded 20,000 entrepreneurs across Africa in 10 years.
Early this month, it announced 1,200 African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries as the tenth cohort of its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme, bringing to 20,000, the number of entrepreneurs who have received funding support from the Foundation.
The 10th cohort 53 percent from Nigeria, 10 percent from Benin Republic and 37 percent from the rest of Africa – 65 males and 35 females – have won US$5,000 in grants each from the programme.
The Foundation noted that it has disbursed US$100,000,000 directly to young African entrepreneurs who have created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing significantly to Africa’s economic growth and development.
Forty-five of these beneficiaries are women, reiterating the Foundation’s commitment to gender inclusion and equity.
The Foundation has also provided capacity-building support, advisory services, and market linkages to over 1.5 million Africans through its digital entrepreneurship-support platform, TEFConnect.
Founder, Tony Elumelu in an address at a ceremony held in Nigeria to announce the 10th cohort, noted that the easiest way to spread prosperity in Africa is to identify and invest in the youthful population and their business creation potentials.
He expressed excitement about empowering younger businesses not just in one country but having to touch lives from all 54 countries.
He emphasised that beneficiaries would undergo monitoring with progress tracked, aiming to create jobs and bolster youn g entrepreneurs who contribute to socioeconomic growth.
He also underscored the need for inclusion highlighting the potential of women-led entrepreneurs and to a large extent entrepreneurship to socio-economic development on the continent.
“As we mark a decade of impact, I am immensely proud of the incredible journey we have embarked on. Our entrepreneurs represent the driving force behind Africa’s economic transformation, and their resilience, determination, and innovation continue to inspire us all. The future of our continent is brighter because of their efforts,” he said.
More of these interventions he believes will aid the transformation of Africa and value addition on the continent.
“Let us prioritise our young ones in Africa, we cannot succeed without supporting our young ones and creating an environment for them to succeed,” he added.
Co-founder of TEF, Dr. Awele V. Elumelu OFR pledges support for the 10th cohorts urging them to stay resilient, work hard, and also be patient.
She appreciated the role of the facilitators saying “Together we all have the shape the vision to empower African women and men”
Some beneficiaries from previous cohorts also expressed gratitude to the foundation highlighting how the support has helped them scale up, placed their business on a vital pedestal, and how the trainings were instrumental in their growth and reach.
Since its inception in 2010, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has pioneered an innovative approach to seeding, capacitising and networking young entrepreneurs across Africa.
Drawing directly from Founder Tony Elumelu’s entrepreneurial journey, the Foundation democratizes luck, spreads opportunity, in a sector-agnostic approach, and has developed a bespoke infrastructure that reaches every country in Africa.
The Foundation is driven by our Founder’s philosophy of Africapitalism, which advocates that the private sector, particularly entrepreneurs, must play a pivotal role in Africa’s development.
