798 African Women-Led Businesses Granted USD$3.99 Million to Drive Africa’s Green Transformation 

• Global development leaders; EU, OACPS, BMZ, GIZ and TEF join forces to empower African women for a sustainable future 

• EU, OACPS, BMZ, GIZ and TEF are driving economic growth with gender-focused green initiatives 

• African women entrepreneurs engaged in comprehensive training on business sustainability and green innovation, preparing them to drive meaningful impact in their communities. 

[Nigeria, December 16, 2024] – Earlier this year, the European Union (EU), Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) reunited to introduce the second instalment of the “Invest in Young Businesses in Africa – Women Entrepreneurship for Africa” (IYBA WE4A), building on the EU’s External Investment Plan to support gender focused lending, including its initiatives to support women economic empowerment within the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP III). 

Today, the IYBA WE4A partners announced the selection of 798 women-led green businesses across eight African countries as part of the second instalment of the IYBA WE4A Programme. This collaboration supports African women entrepreneurs with innovative green solutions, providing critical seed capital, business training, and mentorship to ensure their businesses are sustainable, scalable, and impactful. 

Following an intensive 10-weeks training including a business management training within the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme and a custom green curriculum, these African women entrepreneurs are now fully equipped to make meaningful contributions to the green economy. Each has demonstrated resilience and innovation, meeting the programme’s stringent requirements, including expert-evaluated business plans and pitch sessions, qualifying them for USD$5,000 non-refundable seed capital to propel their ventures forward. 

“At the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we believe that empowered women are essential for economic transformation across Africa. This partnership allows us to take bold steps toward an inclusive, green economy, ensuring our young women entrepreneurs are the drivers of Africa’s sustainable transformation,” said Somachi Chris-Asoluka, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation. “The success of these women-led businesses will reverberate through their communities and across the continent, affirming that with the right support, Africa’s potential is limitless.” 

The selection process reflects the commitment the founding development leaders’ commitment to gender inclusion and equality, by granting African women entrepreneurs with access to gender-targeted green business management training and mentoring, seed-funding, life-time support for investment readiness and follow-up funding. The programme is open to African women who are pioneering solutions in critical green sectors, such as sustainable agriculture and agricultural processing, blue economy and aquaculture, renewable energy, circular economy and waste management including biomass, eco-tourism, construction, as well as transport and logistics. The Programme targets eight (8) Sub-Saharan countries: Cameroon, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania, Togo and Uganda, addressing unique green-sector needs in each region. 

“The Women Entrepreneurship for Africa Programme has been transformative for me and my business. Through this programme I received mentorship that provided clarity for scaling my business. The funding which I’ll receive will enable us to expand our operations, develop eco-friendly farming solutions and empower local farmers with sustainable livelihood. The Women Entrepreneurship for Africa is truly transformative for women entrepreneurs. It’s not just about the funding, it’s about building a support system that inspires growth, resilience and innovation.” – Caroline Lajara, WE4A beneficiary Uganda, and founder of C and J Reusable Sanitary Pads. 

“I am proud beneficiary of the Women Entrepreneurship for Africa Programme. Being a beneficiary of the WE4A Programme has been a game-changer for me. The Programme has provided me with mentorship and guidance that has enabled me to understand how to scale my business effectively and refine my business strategy.” – Joan Wairimu, WE4A beneficiary from Kenya, and founder of Cycle Bins Waste and Recylers. 

  

“The Women Entrepreneurship for Africa Programme has really been of great impact to us and our business because it has really broadened our knowledge on how business is and how to reach our market. It has also given us marketing strategies to sell our products. The funding will enable us purchase brand new equipment to facilitate production and increase our production capacity.” – Rahel Labelle, WE4A beneficiary from Cameroon, and founder of Browns Farm 

  

Through this initiative, the EU, OACPS, BMZ, GIZ, and TEF reaffirm their commitment to gender-focused economic empowerment, aiming to reduce Africa’s environmental impact through green solutions. Building on TEF’s experience in economically empowering over 21,000 entrepreneurs across 54 African nations, the IYBA WE4A programme’s green-focus reaffirms our collective commitment to Africa’s sustainable future. 

Background 

This programme is jointly co-funded by the European Union and the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific State (OACPS), together with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). It is implemented by the Deutschen Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). 

The EU’s Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025 sets out key actions for the next five years and commits to ensure an equality perspective in all EU policy areas. The EU Gender Action Plan (GAP III) in external relations (2021-2025) identifies women’s economic empowerment as a central pillar of the EU’s strategy to close the gender gap and for the successful achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Beside the jointly IYBA WE4A programme, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has launched the most comprehensive entrepreneurial programme in Africa, with a financial commitment of USD$100 million since 2015. Successful applicants selected as TEF beneficiaries on an annual basis complete a rigorous online business management training supported by designated mentors, participate in the global TEF Forum, and receive USD$5,000 in seed capital. 

The programme directly addresses some of the most endemic challenges to African start-ups – skills and capacity gaps, financial constraints, and lack of access to mentoring, networks and market linkages. Following completion of the programme, the entrepreneurs stay connected to the Foundation and to each other through their lifetime membership on TEFConnect. TEF has also set up Country Chapters in 54 African countries to support the entrepreneurs as they grow and expand their businesses. 

About the European Union 

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European countries. It is founded on the values of respect for human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, the rule of law and respect for human rights, including the rights of persons belonging to minorities. It acts globally to promote sustainable development of societies, environment and economies, so that everyone can benefit. 

About the Tony Elumelu Foundation 

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 increasing women economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, the Foundation has provided up to 2.5 million young Africans with access to trainings on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed over USD$100 million in direct funding to 21,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 800,000 direct and indirect jobs, and generated over USD$4.2 billion in revenue. 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. 

For further information on the IYBA WE4A programme and to learn more about the success stories of our women entrepreneurs, click here. 

For media enquiries, please contact: 

Moyo Awotile 

Email: moyo.awotile@tonyelumelufoundation.org 

Tel: +234 809 975 1482