TEF IN TOGO
On February 11th, the Tony Elumelu Foundation attended the launch of the IYBA (Investing in Youth Business in Africa) Launch in Lomé, Togo. As part of the EU’s initiative to continue to support entrepreneurs across Africa, the IYBA will be launching across the continent and has also been an opportunity for the Foundation to highlight its active partnership with the EU, having worked to fund, train and mentor 2,420 female entrepreneurs, as well as providing technical support to alumni and access to additional funding of up to 50,000 EUR to 100 female TEF alumni.
As part of this launch, I represented the Foundation and spoke on a panel with key stakeholders from GIZ, AFD (The French Development Agency), FNFI (The National Fund for Inclusive Finance) and Comoé Capital – Investisseurs & Partenaires amongst other investment institutions actively supporting entrepreneurs in Togo.
The focus of this panel was on how best to support young Togolese entrepreneurs, the gaps that exist, the challenges they face and the need to continue to support entrepreneurs especially female entrepreneurs.
At the Foundation, we continue to support entrepreneurs while offering entrepreneurs additional opportunities to additional funding, mentorship, and coaching opportunities. So far, the Foundation has funded 106 Togolese entrepreneurs, and we look forward to continuing this inspiring journey and democratizing luck to those who typically would not have received it.
A key highlight of this event was meeting our alumni and learning about their businesses, the challenges such as access to funding that they experience and the need for even more support from both development agencies and key private sector players. TEF Alumni were in attendance and shared their experiences of the programme, encouraging others to apply and be part of this life changing opportunity.
We look forward to continuing to deepen our work in Togo and empowering young African entrepreneurs through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme.
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- Oniye Okolo
- Policy and Partnerships Officer
