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| Tony Elumelu/ Getty Images |
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has announced 3,050 African entrepreneurs, drawn from all 54 African countries, selected to join the fifth cycle of its $100 million TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
The announcement was made at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja,
during the selection process by Accenture Development Partners. According to
TEF, the latest figure shows about 50% increase from the over 1400 that made it
in 2018. 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 per cent, illustrating the Foundation’s strategy to achieve
greater gender balance.
The Foundation said 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, 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.”
On why he deemed it feet to empower young men and women
across Africa, Elumelu said, “Poverty anywhere is a threat to people
everywhere. If you limit it to Nigeria, and your neighbours in the African
countries are hungry, it won’t work.”
In her speech, wife
of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, 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).
Here is the full list of 2019 lucky entrepreneurs. Click here
.jfif)
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