Tony Elumelu Foundation disburse $100m to young African entrepreneurs
AN amount of $100 million has been disbursed to young African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries under the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship programme in the last 10 years.
This was made known in a release issued by the foundation to announce the successful entrepreneurs in its 10th selection for the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
It said the new cohort brings to 20,000, the number of young African entrepreneurs who have received funding, mentoring and capacity-building support from the Foundation, double the initial commitment.
“The Tony Elumelu Foundation 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.
“45 per cent of these beneficiaries are women, reiterating the Foundation’s commitment to gender inclusion and equity,” the release said.
It explained that since its inception in 2010, the Tony Elumelu Foundation had pioneered an innovative approach to seeding, capacitising and networking young entrepreneurs across Africa.
It said drawing directly from Founder Tony Elumelu’s entrepreneurial journey, the Foundation had democratised luck, spread opportunity, in a sector-agnostic approach, and developed a bespoke infrastructure that reached every country in Africa.
According to the release, “the Foundation is driven by its founder’s philosophy of Africapitalism, which advocates that the private sector, particularly entrepreneurs, must play the pivotal role in Africa’s development.”
The Founder of TEF, Tony O. Elumelu, said, “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.”
The release added that as part of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s commitment to supporting young Africans, ongoing opportunities, including the Women Entrepreneurship For Africa (WE4A), a partnership between the European Union, GIZ and TEF, and Aguka Entrepreneurship Programme, a partnership between UNDP and TEF in Rwanda were currently open for applications from young entrepreneurs across Africa on TEFConnect.
It encouraged all African entrepreneurs to apply to receive training, mentorship, access to networks and funding.