We are The Leading Philanthropy Empowering Young Africans Across All 54 African Countries

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) was founded in 2010 by Tony O. Elumelu, C.f.r; An entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist who is passionate about Africa’s economic development.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed nearly US$ 100 million in direct funding to over 20,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector and, most importantly, entrepreneurs as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent. The Foundation’s ability to fund, train, mentor, and network young African entrepreneurs has created a unique platform for catalysing growth across the African continent.

The robust ability of the Foundation to reach entrepreneurs across geographies and sectors has enabled it to conduct innovative partnerships with the European Union (EU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the US Government via the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the French Development Agency (AFD), the German Development Finance Institution (DEG), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and Google, with bespoke programmes including targeting female empowerment and growth in fragile states.

MISSION & VISION

Our mission at the Tony Elumelu Foundation has always been crystal clear: to empower, uplift, and inspire the next generation of African leaders. Through our unwavering commitment we've not only created opportunities but also ignited a spark of possibility in the hearts of millions.

2010
Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) was founded, signalling the beginning of the journey to accelerate African entrepreneurship.
2011
The Elumelu Professionals Programme (formerly known as the African Market Internship Programme, AMIP) and the Tony & Awele Elumelu Prize were launched.
2012
The Tony Elumelu Foundation provided $100,000 seed funding to 20 tech businesses through Nigerian Accelerator, CCHub, and launched a partnership between The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) and the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) to strengthen Africa’s private sector.
2013
The Tony Elumelu Foundation partnered with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Trade and Industry to fund the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN) and it supported the creation of the Impact Economy Innovations Fund (IEIF) - a joint, US$650,000 initiative with the Rockefeller Foundation to identify and fund seven individual investments.
2014
TEF launched the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, a $100million commitment to identify, mentor, fund, and train 10,000 African entrepreneurs in 10 years across 54 African countries, as well as the Africapitalism Institute.
2015
The first set of 1,000 pan-African entrepreneurs were announced as beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme, from over 20,000 applications across the continent. They convened at the inaugural TEF Forum.
2016
The TEF report “Unleashing Africa's Agricultural Entrepreneurs”, a research of 304 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs from the Agricultural sector, was launched at the World Economic Forum Africa in Kigali, Rwanda
2017
Tony Elumelu Foundation officially opened its TEF Entrepreneurship Programme to global partners
2018
The Tony Elumelu Foundation launched TEFConnect, the largest digital networking platform connecting African entrepreneurs to pan-African business opportunities. The Foundation also hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at an exclusive gathering with over 1,000 guests in attendance.
2019
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a ground-breaking partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation to empower 100,000 additional entrepreneurs in rural, underserved communities across the continent over 10 years. It also launched a $5million partnership agreement with the African Development Bank, to support young entrepreneurs in Africa with training, mentorship and funding.
2020
The Tony Elumelu Foundation unveiled an upgraded and fully digitised TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, allowing instant feedback on entrepreneurs’ application and end to end automated processes.

"As an entrepreneur myself, I understand what it feels like to yearn for a lifeline, to hope for a ‘big break’, to look forward to enjoying some luck."

TONY O. ELUMELU, C.F.R

MISSION & VISION

Our mission at the Tony Elumelu Foundation has always been crystal clear: to empower, uplift, and inspire the next generation of African leaders. Through our unwavering commitment. we've not only created opportunities but also ignited a spark of possibility in the hearts of millions.

OUR VALUES

Execution
A burning desire to always see things through to completion in a timely, efficient and effective manner. We believe in hard work and seeing through ideas from conception all through to achieving excellent results.
Enterprise
Having the willingness and determination to do whatever it takes to get the job done. In a competitive business environment, what sets us apart is our individual and collective responsibility to take ownership of our deliverables and lead innovative initiatives.
Excellence
Delivering in an outstanding manner, consistently. Excellence is a mantra embedded in the heart of every employee. We go several steps beyond the norm to deliver measurable value to our stakeholders.
Previous slide
Next slide
2010
Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) was founded, signalling the beginning of the journey to accelerate African entrepreneurship.
2011
The Elumelu Professionals Programme (formerly known as the African Market Internship Programme, AMIP) and the Tony & Awele Elumelu Prize were launched.
2012
The Tony Elumelu Foundation provided $100,000 seed funding to 20 tech businesses through Nigerian Accelerator, CCHub, and launched a partnership between The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) and the Tony Blair Africa Governance Initiative (AGI) to strengthen Africa’s private sector.
2013
The Tony Elumelu Foundation partnered with Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Trade and Industry to fund the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN) and it supported the creation of the Impact Economy Innovations Fund (IEIF) - a joint, US$650,000 initiative with the Rockefeller Foundation to identify and fund seven individual investments.
2014
TEF launched the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, a $100million commitment to identify, mentor, fund, and train 10,000 African entrepreneurs in 10 years across 54 African countries, as well as the Africapitalism Institute.
2015
The first set of 1,000 pan-African entrepreneurs were announced as beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme, from over 20,000 applications across the continent. They convened at the inaugural TEF Forum.
2016
The TEF report “Unleashing Africa's Agricultural Entrepreneurs”, a research of 304 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs from the Agricultural sector, was launched at the World Economic Forum Africa in Kigali, Rwanda
2017
Tony Elumelu Foundation officially opened its TEF Entrepreneurship Programme to global partners
2018
The Tony Elumelu Foundation launched TEFConnect, the largest digital networking platform connecting African entrepreneurs to pan-African business opportunities. The Foundation also hosted French President Emmanuel Macron at an exclusive gathering with over 1,000 guests in attendance.
2019
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed a ground-breaking partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation to empower 100,000 additional entrepreneurs in rural, underserved communities across the continent over 10 years. It also launched a $5million partnership agreement with the African Development Bank, to support young entrepreneurs in Africa with training, mentorship and funding.
2020
The Tony Elumelu Foundation unveiled an upgraded and fully digitised TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, allowing instant feedback on entrepreneurs’ application and end to end automated processes.
2021
The Tony Elumelu Foundation appoints women in three senior executive roles, demonstrating leadership as a global champion for gender inclusion and equality

OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER
ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER

stay updated

Stay up to date on our entrepreneurs, events, research and more.

GIVE US FEEDBACK
close-link

LEARN ABOUT THE TEF IMPACT
close-link

PRIVACY POLICY UPDATE

We have made changes to our Privacy Policy to better protect your personal data! Please review and understand our updated Privacy Policy

I agree to the updated Privacy Policy. I understand that the use of my personal data by the Tony Elumelu Foundation will be in accordance with the updated Privacy Policy.