Tony Elumelu Foundation Announces $500 Million Coalition for African Entrepreneurs

Nigeria’s business mogul, Tony Elumelu is the founder of The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), which aims to support and empower African entrepreneurs. Elumelu also chairs Heirs Holdings and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp).

He established TEF with the mission of identifying, training, mentoring and funding 10,000 African entrepreneurs over 10 years. The Foundation’s flagship programme, the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP), provides entrepreneurs with a 12-week training course, seed capital of $5,000, and ongoing mentorship and networking opportunities.

Since its inception, TEF has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed nearly $100 million in direct funding to over 18,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.  These entrepreneurs work across various sectors, including agriculture, healthcare, education, and technology.

Elumelu’s vision for the TEF is to create a sustainable platform for African entrepreneurship that can drive the continent’s economic transformation. The mission of the Foundation is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.  His work through the foundation has received widespread recognition, including being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world in 2019.

Tony Elumelu Foundation announces $500 Million Coalition

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has announced its $500 million Coalition for African Entrepreneurs. The coalition which will support 100,000 young African entrepreneurs, including 50,000 women by 2033, will focus on fragile states, women’s entrepreneurship, and green entrepreneurship.

TEF’s $500 million Coalition is open to development agencies, the private sector, philanthropic organisations, and governments to collaborate in empowering Africa’s next generation. Aimed at building support for the Women in Digital Economy Fund, the Coalition will also promote women’s economic security across Africa.

The announcement spotlights the role of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, as a leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, increasing women’s economic empowerment and catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries.

TEF’s announcement comes at a time when the US is calling on the private sector, civil society, philanthropic, and government stakeholders to collaborate in promoting the adoption of digital tools and services across Africa.