Nadya Eka Lestari
TechInAfrica — The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has announced the opening of its portal for applications from African entrepreneurs across all African countries for the 2020 cohort of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme. In 2019, 3,050 African entrepreneurs benefited from the Programme.
The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is open to startup entrepreneurs, with innovative business ideas or businesses that have been in existence for less than 3 years, in any sector, from across Africa. The Programme is the $100 million commitment by African investor and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu to empower 10,000 entrepreneurs in 10 years, with the goal of creating millions of jobs and new revenue on the continent. The program implements Elumelu’s Africapitalism philosophy, which positions the private sector as the catalyst for African economic transformation, and an investment approach that values the creation of both social and economic wealth.
As the commemoration of its 10th year anniversary, the Foundation will announce further enhancements to the program, providing additional benefits to Africa’s rapidly growing youth demographic. The changes in the 2020 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme emphasize a personalized entrepreneurship journey for every applicant and opening the platform to ensure a higher number of people trained, amplifying the Programme’s impact and reach. In just five years, the Programme has empowered over 9,000 beneficiaries from all 54 African countries, with training, mentorship, and seed funding.
Speaking at the launch day of the 2020 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation said, “The transformation of Africa begins with empowering our young African entrepreneurs. With the recent enhancements made to our Programme and our growing list of partners, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is significantly increasing its impact across the continent. We encourage all startup African entrepreneurs across the 54 African countries to apply for the Programme, as we continue to empower the very best ideas that will create much-needed employment and revenue on the continent”.
The application portal is open from January 1 to March 1, 2020.
Source: prnewswire.com
