The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) on Sunday, March 22, unveiled 3,200 new beneficiaries with 5,000 dollars empowerment grant for young African entrepreneurs in its 2026 cohort.
The Foundation said that the entrepreneurs would be funded via Heirs Holdings Group Companies, the European Commission, Seme City Development Agency, DEG, the German Development Agency, and the IKEA Foundation.
It listed other partners to include UNICEF, the Dutch Government, UNDP and the Rwandan Ministry of Youth and Arts.
The Founder of TEF, Mr. Tony Elumelu, said that the foundation’s work was vital in providing access to funding, mentorship, coaching, training, and resources, to catalyse entrepreneurial businesses.
Elumelu said that the idea was to further job creation, poverty alleviation and inclusive economic empowerment across the African continent.
“We are doing this because we want to live through our mantra and our mission of democratising love, democratising prosperity, and most importantly, being important and part of the communities where we operate.
“The more prosperity we spread and we share, the more young Africans we mobilise, realising that one person alone can not change Africa. It is not money we have in our bank account that matters at the end of the day.
“The better thing to do is to help, put in place a mechanism to continue to spread prosperity, to make sure that some do not have do not suffer,.
“The best we can do is to support young entrepreneurs. So, to our 3,200 beneficiaries, I say congratulations. But more importantly, we need you to please succeed. Your success will make a difference,” he said.
He commended President Bola Tinubu for creating the enabling environment for economic empowerment to thrive, and for his commitment to the young entrepreneurs, and the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).
Also speaking, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TEF, said that the foundation had disbursed over 100 million dollars to 24,000 young men and women, who started and scaled businesses across Africa, since its inception 2015.
Chris-Asoluka said that the entrepreneurs had collectively created 1.5 million jobs, and generated $4.2 billion in revenue, lifting 3.1 million Africans above the poverty line.
According to her, 4.1 million households have been positively impacted.
“We have seen entrepreneurs become employers; we have seen founders become leaders that are driving innovation and prosperity across the different communities.
“We all know that entrepreneurship is an uphill journey. We know that entrepreneurs will need mentors who have worn those shoes, who are able to counsel, nurture and guide them,” she said.
The TEF CEO thanked the Tokyo Web Foundation for providing mentors who used their knowledge, insight and wisdom to support the young entrepreneurs.
She said that TEF would disburse over $16 million to support, train, fund, coach and mentor the 3,200 selected young African entrepreneurs from across the continent.
She said that agriculture remained a huge sector the entrepreneurs invested in.
“Another huge sector is retail. There is also AI, ICT, and tech. So, entrepreneurs are already thinking around how to build massive businesses in artificial intelligence.
“We also see huge interest in green economy, waste recycling, and obviously education and healthcare keep coming up tops,” she said.
The high point of the event was the introduction of six highest-flying alumni of the programme from the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Kenya, Algeria, Mali and Nigeria to the audience.
They were said to have transformed the funding, training, mentorship and coaching into leading businesses across the continent.
By Kadiri Abdulrahman