TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES 3,050 ENTREPRENEURS SELECTED FOR THE 5th CYCLE OF THE TEF ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME
- Tony Elumelu Foundation directly funds 1,000 entrepreneurs and an additional 2,050 beneficiaries supported by Foundation’s partners
- TEF Entrepreneurship Forum – Africa’s largest entrepreneurship convening – to be held on July 26-27
Click here to see the full list of selected entrepreneurs
ABUJA, NIGERIA, March 22, 2019— The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading African philanthropy committed to empowering African entrepreneurs, today announced 3,050 African entrepreneurs, drawn from all 54 African countries, selected to join the 5th cycle of its $100million TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
The announcement was made at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, following a presentation of the selection process by Accenture Development Partners.
This year, over 216,000 applications were received, an increase from last year’s 151,000. Nearly 90,000 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.
TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, who celebrated his birthday today, said: “Every year, we face an almost impossible task – to select 1,000 entrepreneurs, from the hundreds of thousands that apply. Our entrepreneurs are hungry to effect change. 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”.
In her speech, Her Excellency, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, the wife of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, 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).
For a list of the selected 2019 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs and information on our applicants, please visit tefconnect.com.
L-R: Tony Elumelu, Founder, The Tony Elumelu Foundation; Her Excellency Mrs. Aisha Buhari, Wife to the President of Nigeria; Dr. Awele Elumelu, Trustee, Tony Elumelu Foundation ; at the Selection and Unveiling of the 5th Cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja over the weekend.
L-R: Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, incoming CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Parminder Vir, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Ambassador Shimon Ben-Shoshan, Ambassador of Israel to Nigeria; Tony Elumelu, Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Her Excellency Mrs. Aisha Buhari, Wife to the President of Nigeria; Dr. Awele Elumelu, Trustee, Tony Elumelu Foundation; at the Selection and Unveiling of the 5th Cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja over the weekend.
L-R: Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, incoming CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Parminder Vir, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Ambassador Shimon Ben-Shoshan, Ambassador of Israel to Nigeria; Tony Elumelu, Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Her Excellency Mrs. Aisha Buhari, Wife to the President of Nigeria; Dr. Awele Elumelu, Trustee, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Ambassador Yvonne Khamati , Deputy Ambassador to Kenya; HRH Ebitimi Banigo, Amanyanabo of Okpoama Kingdom; at the Selection and Unveiling of the 5th Cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja over the weekend.
L-R: Anno Kokeletso Tshipa, Head, Marketing & Communications, (CEDA), Botswana; Khardiata Lo Ndiaye, Resident Representative of UNDP in Nigeria; Tony Elumelu, Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Oley Dibba-Wadda, Director, Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development, AfDB; Her Excellency, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, Wife of the President of Nigeria; Dr. Awele Elumelu, Trustee, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Claude Borna, MD and Chief Innovation Officer, Sèmè City Development Agency – Republic of Benin; during the announcement of 3,050 entrepreneurs of the 5th cycle of Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme held in Abuja on Friday.
ABOUT TONY ELUMELU FOUNDATION
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is the leading African philanthropy committed to empowering African entrepreneurs. Founded by African investor and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, the Foundation is guided by the philosophy, Africapitalism, which proposes that the private sector holds the key to unlocking the sustainable development of Africa.
Through its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme, the Foundation empowers African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem across 54 African countries. The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is a $100million commitment by the Elumelu family to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over a 10-year period. The goal is to create at least 1million jobs and contribute over $10billion in revenue to the African economy.
Since its inception in 2015, the Programme has empowered 4,000 African entrepreneurs directly and an additional 470 entrepreneurs supported by the Foundation’s global partners.
See breakdown of selected entrepreneurs here
Catch up on the TEF selection announcement highlights here
MEDIA CONTACT:
Media inquiries should be directed to media@tonyelumelufoundation.org.
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