Founder of the leading African philanthropy committed to empowering African entrepreneur, The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Dr. Tony Elumelu (CON) has said that entrepreneurs supported by the foundation are hungry to effect change that would transform the economies and livelihoods of Africa.
Elumelu made this known on Friday during the unveiling of 3,050 African entrepreneurs, drawn from all 54 African countries, selected to join the 5th cycle of $100million TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
Speaking at the event held at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, Elumelu who realised the huge number of entrepreneurial talents that abound in the continent, urged African leaders to harness the potential to transform economies and livelihoods in the continent.
“We know we are only scratching the surface, we see the depth of entrepreneurial talent, that all of us – government, business indeed African society, must harness to transform our economies and livelihoods. We must rally together to empower them and accelerate the change we want on the continent,”. he said.
The selection was processed by Accenture Development Partners.
This year, over 216,000 applications were received, an increase from last year’s 151,000.
Nearly 90,000 applications were submitted by female entrepreneurs, an increase of 45%, illustrating the Foundation’s strategy to achieve greater gender balance.
The selected Entrepreneurs will each receive non- refundable $5,000 of seed capital, access to mentors, and a 12-week business training programme, directly focused on the needs of African entrepreneurs. On July 26 – 27 2019, they will gather at the TEF Entrepreneurship Forum, the largest annual gathering of African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem on the continent.
In her speech, the wife of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Her Excellency, Mrs. Aisha Buhari commended the Programme’s impact on the continent, charging the selected entrepreneurs to contribute to the advancement of the African continent.
“Indeed, I am confident that these Tony Elumelu entrepreneurs will inspire deep confidence and be of immense value not just to Nigeria but to the entire continent,” she said.
Speaking on the announcement, the incoming CEO, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, said, “The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme has successfully empowered 7,520 entrepreneurs in its first five years of the 10- year programme.
Marking the fifth anniversary of the 10-year programme, this year’s selection includes 2,050 entrepreneurs, supported by the Foundation’s partners in addition to the Foundation’s annual commitment of 1,000, bringing the total number of entrepreneurs empowered by the Foundation to date to 7,520.
Last year, we launched TEFConnect – the digital networking platform for African entrepreneurs and open to all – to further democratise the access to opportunities for the thousands of entrepreneurs that cannot directly benefit from our Entrepreneurship Programme. This further demonstrates our commitment to empowering our entrepreneurs and our belief that entrepreneurship holds the key to unleashing the true potential of the African continent”, she said.
The Foundation’s growing list of partners includes the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Federal Republic of Benin (Seme City), the Anambra State Government, Indorama, the Government of Botswana and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
