Tony Elumelu Foundation announces 10th cohort of entrepreneurship Programme – 20,000 entrepreneurs funded across Africa

10th Cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme
Announced

Over 50 business sectors from farming to technology represented.

20,000 entrepreneurs from 54 countries across Africa funded in 10 years –
doubling the original target.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries, has announced the successful entrepreneurs in its tenth selection for the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.

This new cohort brings to 20,000, the number of young African entrepreneurs
who have received funding, mentoring, and capacity-building support from the
Foundation, double the initial commitment. The Tony Elumelu Foundation has
disbursed US$100,000,000 directly to young African entrepreneurs, who have
created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing significantly to Africa's.

economic growth and development. 45% of these beneficiaries are women,
reiterating the Foundation’s commitment to gender inclusion and equity.
Past entrepreneurs selected across Africa include:

1. Stella Sigana, founder of Alternative Waste Technologies from Kenya,
produces fuel briquettes by converting organic and charcoal waste from
slum settlements, and dedicates a portion of the revenues to providing
education, skills training, and job placement for adolescent girls and young
women aged 18-24. Since her selection, Stella has created 12 jobs,
generated over $79,000 in revenue, and recycled over 500 tons of waste
into fuel briquettes for cooking. Her business model has also empowered
hundreds of women entrepreneurs in slum settlements in Kenya, enabling
them to build businesses by selling their products directly to their
communities, thus significantly increasing household income and
wellbeing.

2. Vital Sounouvou from Benin is the founder of Exportunity, an e-commerce
platform that promotes export opportunities for Africans by connecting
producers with traders. Through Exportunity, Sounouvou has engaged over
750 clients, and built a database of 85,000 companies trading with Africa.
He has employed 32 people.

3. Nora Chaynane, a Moroccan entrepreneur, and founder of Shine Space, a
socio-educational initiative aimed at bridging the knowledge gap and
guiding students toward the right career path, helps young Moroccans
develop technical and interpersonal skills beyond school curriculum
requirements. Through Shine Space, Nora has upskilled and capacitised
over 2,500 young Moroccans.

Since its inception in 2010, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has pioneered an
innovative approach to seeding, capacitating, and networking young
entrepreneurs across Africa. Drawing directly from Founder Tony Elumelu’s
entrepreneurial journey, the Foundation democratizes luck, spreads opportunity,
in a sector-agnostic approach, and has developed a bespoke infrastructure that
reaches every country in Africa.

The Foundation is driven by our Founder’s philosophy of Africapitalism, which advocates that the private sector, particularly entrepreneurs, must play a pivotal role in Africa’s development.

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), Sèmè City
Development Agency, and Google, with bespoke programmes including targeting
female empowerment and growth in fragile states. Building on its existing
partnership with Sèmè City Development Agency, the Tony Elumelu Foundation
will fund an additional 100 young entrepreneurs from Benin Republic in 2024.
Tony O. Elumelu shared:

"As we mark a decade of impact, I am immensely proud of the incredible journey we have embarked on. Our entrepreneurs represent the driving force behind Africa's economic transformation, and their resilience, determination, and innovation continue to inspire us all. The future of our continent is brighter because of their efforts.”

As part of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s commitment to supporting young Africans, the following ongoing opportunities are currently open for applications from young entrepreneurs across Africa on TEFConnect:

1. Women Entrepreneurship For Africa (WE4A), a partnership between the
European Union, GIZ, and TEF

2. Aguka Entrepreneurship Programme, a partnership between UNDP and
TEF in Rwanda

African entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply to these initiatives to receive
training, mentorship, access to networks, and funding.

To learn more about the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme
"Decade of Impact" please see here. The success stories of these beneficiaries can be found here, and a full breakdown of the Foundation’s beneficiaries across Africa can be found here. For more insights into our impactful initiatives, milestones, and the transformative stories of entrepreneurs across Africa, delve into our annual reports here.