By: Mohamed Sahr
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Africa’s leading philanthropy empowering entrepreneurs, is set to announce the 11th cohort of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme on Saturday, March 22, 2025.
This announcement comes at a critical time, as Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem grapples with funding constraints and global economic challenges. TEF continues to provide essential support, empowering African entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into sustainable businesses that drive economic growth.
Each selected Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur will receive $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, world-class business training through TEFConnect, one-on-one mentorship, and access to global networks and investment opportunities. The selection process is being conducted by Ernst & Young to ensure an independent and transparent assessment.
The impact of the Tony Elumelu Foundation extends beyond financial support. It is changing lives and shaping Africa’s future, as evidenced by the success stories of previous beneficiaries of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
Ahead of the upcoming announcement, Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder of TEF and Group Chairman of Heirs Holdings, reaffirmed his strong belief in the potential of Africa’s entrepreneurs:
“I believe that Africa’s transformation will not be led by aid, but by empowering the next generation of African entrepreneurs providing them with the tools, funding, training, and networks to build sustainable businesses that create jobs and stimulate economic growth.
Over the past decade, we have nurtured entrepreneurs from inception to success, scaling our impact across all 54 African countries. We have provided capital and established a robust monitoring and evaluation framework that tracks the progress of our entrepreneurs and measures their contributions to their communities and economies.
No other organisation is implementing entrepreneurship development on this scale across Africa. We have learned, refined our approach, and continue to improve, ensuring that African entrepreneurs both women and men are at the forefront of addressing our continent’s challenges and creating wealth for themselves and their communities.”