Through its funding of over 21,000 entrepreneurs across Africa, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme has created 1.5 million jobs in Africa over a decade from 2015 to 2025.
According to the TEF, 2.1 million Africans were lifted from poverty and connected to economic opportunities, aligning with the vision of the Founder and Chairman, Mr. Tony Elumelu, CFR.
In his remarks, Mr. Elumelu said, “We have built to last, and we have built for impact. These past years are the clearest evidence that Africapitalism works.”
The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme also generated approximately $4.5 billion in revenue and achieved gender parity, with 45% of beneficiaries being women. In addition, it has provided the platform for Green and creative entrepreneurship to scale.
In 2015, Tony Elumelu and his wife, Co-founder Dr. Awele Elumelu, MFR, made a bold US$100 million commitment to empower Africa’s next generation of entrepreneurs with non-refundable seed capital, business training, mentorship, and access to strategic networks, through the flagship TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
Elumelu added, “As an entrepreneur, I knew the opportunities that Africa offers and the transformative power of entrepreneurship.
As an African, I was keenly aware of the challenges facing the next generation, their resilience, and their ambition.
We launched our Foundation and set out on a journey to transform Africa and catalyse the next generation.
That vision advanced significantly in 2015, when we launched the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, committing US$100 million to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over 10 years.”
