Nigerian businessman and philanthropist Tony Elumelu has announced a fresh round of 3,200 African entrepreneurs to receive funding under the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme, marking a major expansion of one of the continent’s largest private-sector-driven development initiatives.
The announcement, made on Sunday, March 22, in his annual birthday message, coincides with the unveiling of the programme’s 12th cohort at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja.
Elumelu said the initiative reflects a long-standing belief that “opportunity can be democratised” and that Africa’s economic future lies in empowering its young entrepreneurs.
“Our story of hope began in 2010,” he said. “In a world filled with uncertainty, we made a deliberate choice — year after year — to plant certainty in the lives of young African entrepreneurs.”
$100m disbursed, 24,000 entrepreneurs funded
According to Elumelu, the foundation has now disbursed more than $100 million in non-refundable seed capital to over 24,000 entrepreneurs across Africa, nearly tripling its original target of supporting 10,000 businesses.
He noted that about 80 per cent of beneficiaries have scaled beyond early-stage operations, significantly outperforming global survival rates for startups.
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“This means four out of five businesses under the programme succeed, compared to one out of five globally,” he said.
The foundation estimates its impact has reached over 4 million households, helped lift 1 million people out of poverty, generated $4.2 billion in revenue, and created approximately 5 million jobs.
Women lead 2026 cohort
A key highlight of this year’s cohort is the dominance of female entrepreneurs, who make up 51 per cent of selected participants.
“This selection was purely by merit,” Elumelu said. “Across thousands of applications, women stood out through the strength of their ideas, the clarity of their business models, and the ambition of their vision.”
He added that the outcome underscores the growing role of women in Africa’s economic transformation, particularly when access to opportunity is expanded.
‘Hope is a system we can build’
Framing the programme within his philosophy of “Africapitalism,” Elumelu argued that Africa’s private sector must take the lead in driving development.
“Africa’s greatest resource has never been oil or gold. It has always been its people,” he said. “Hope is not just a feeling — it is a system we can build.”
The TEF model, he added, is increasingly being studied by global institutions as an alternative to aid-driven development, emphasising entrepreneurship, mentorship, and access to capital.
Call to action
Addressing the newly selected entrepreneurs, Elumelu urged resilience and ambition.
“We did not choose you because your journey was easy — we chose you because you kept going when it wasn’t,” he said. “Now, let us transform our continent together.”
The latest cohort will receive funding, mentorship, and access to TEF’s digital platform, TEFConnect, as part of ongoing efforts to scale entrepreneurship across all 54 African countries.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
