Apply NOW for $5000 in the 2025 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme| SEED CAPITAL
NOTE: Applications Open January 1st, 2025
About the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP)| Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF)
The programme, run by the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), is a 10-year, US$100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor, and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs by 2025.
Successful applicants will receive 12 weeks of intensive online training, access to a world-class mentor, and US$5,000 in seed capital to prove the concept, plus access to further funding. They will also gain access to the TEF network of startups.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is a $100million commitment made by the Elumelu family to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over a 10-year period through training, mentorship, and funding.
The goal is to create at least 1Million jobs and contribute over $10billion in revenue to the African economy.
Through its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme the Foundation empowers African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem across 54 African countries.
How the Programme Works
The TEF training curriculum has been designed to segment entrepreneurs based on demonstrated capability and knowledge.
The training has been tailored to educate and capacities you in starting or growing your business to overcome the challenges faced by entrepreneurs across the African continent.
The curriculum focuses on practical, iterative learning that is useful even long after the training period.
Programme Eligibility
- Who can apply?
The programme is open to all citizens and legal residents of any one of the 54 African countries. The proposed business must be registered and operate in Africa. - Is there an age restriction for applicants?
Yes. Applicants must be 18 years old and must not be considered a minor in their country of residence. There is no upper-limit age restriction. - Is there a restriction on the age of my business?
Yes. All businesses must be business ideas or an early stage company, in the range of 0 to 5 years old. - What if I run multiple early-stage businesses?
Your application must focus on ONE business only. We advise choosing your best, most feasible/innovative business idea. Selected entrepreneurs are not permitted to apply for future cohorts of the programme, even with a different business idea or name. - Will my start-up be excluded if I have a relation/family member who works for the TEF?
Yes. Current employees or their family members from the Tony Elumelu Foundation and affiliate companies in the Heirs Holdings Group and UBA Group are not eligible to apply for the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, either individually or as part of a team.
Who is not eligible to participate in the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme?
- TEF Audit Partners and their Immediate Family Members.
- Employees of companies affiliated with the Tony Elumelu Foundation who have been involved in the creation or administration of the Programme and their Immediate Family Members.
- The Promoter’s consultants and agents (and employees and Immediate Family Members of such employees where the consultants and agents are entities) involved in the creation and administration of this programme.
- Research institutions, faith-based organisations, government agencies and businesses not located in Mali will not be eligible to apply for the programme.
- Applications by TEF Alumni or their Business Partner.
- Applications by persons disqualified under any previous TEF programme.
- Applications made using methods such as a macro, script, using automated devices or processors or other forms of digital tool to gain an unfair advantage.
- Incomplete and incorrect applications.
- Applications which contain illegal or unethical Businesses or Business Ideas.
Programme Application Process
- How do I apply for the programme?
All applications must be submitted ONLINE through the application platform of the tefconnect.net You must complete an application form by answering a series of mandatory questions. - After submission, you will receive a confirmation email of receipt.
- What if my company is a partnership?
Only one nominated person from the business or the partnership may join the programme. You must have consent from all partners, and have and equal or majority share to participate. - Can I apply offline?
No. All applications must be submitted online through the tefconnect.net only. - What if English is not my first language?
The application form is also available in Arabic, French and Portuguese. - What information/identification do I need to provide in my application?
You must answer all the mandatory questions in the application form, and provide accurate and up-to-date information. - Are there application/associated fees?
No. The Tony Elumelu Foundation does not charge any applicants a fee for applying to the programme.
For more information on how to apply for the 2025 Tony Elumelu Foundation , Click here,Entrepreneurship Programme
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT the 2025 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme| SEED CAPITAL
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries, has opened applications for the 2022 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme on www.TEFConnect.com African entrepreneurs with business ideas or existing businesses under 5 years, are encouraged to apply now for $5000 seed capital, mentorship, business management training and more on the 2022 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme.
Since 2015, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme – the only African-funded entrepreneurship catalyst of its kind – has empowered 15,847 African entrepreneurs with non-returnable seed capital of $5,000 each; twelve weeks of business management training; access to experienced mentors; and membership to Africa’s largest entrepreneurial ecosystem.
In 2021, the Tony Elumelu Foundation disbursed USD$24.75 million to 5000 African entrepreneurs across Africa for its 2021 Entrepreneurship Programme. The Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme remains one of the largest private sector responses to driving the economic recovery of African youth, women and SMEs given the effects of the covid19 pandemic across Africa. Across Africa, the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme beneficiaries are starting and growing trailblazing businesses that have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.
According to 2015 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur, Hauwa Liman, female business owner and Founder of Afrik Abaya: “I am always proud to say that I am from the inaugural cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme. My business is located in Kaduna, in northern Nigeria. I benefitted from this Programme in 2015, and it opened up lots of doors and opportunities. It is not just about the seed capital, but what really fascinates me about the Programme is the knowledge. I call it a mini-MBA programme, because from the ideation stage it teaches you how to really articulate your business, and it gave me my first business plan. The network, visibility and opportunities are endless. My entrepreneurship experience cannot be complete without the Tony Elumelu Foundation. I will start exporting to other countries soon courtesy of the Foundation. We now employ ten permanent staff and an additional eight staff on a commission basis.”
Commenting on the launch of the 2022 Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu shared, “We are constantly blown away by the quality of businesses that come from Africa every year. This motivates us to scale our efforts to empower even more entrepreneurs on continent. The innovation, knowledge and resilience of African entrepreneurs is central to charting Africa’s socio-economic transformation and meet the continent’s development objectives. We are also proud of the increase in female participation on our Programme, especially with the 2021 cohort where we witnessed a record 68% selection of women entrepreneurs.”
Founding Trustee of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Dr. A V. Elumelu stated: “Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, we seek to democratise luck. Hard work plays an important and undeniable part in success, but one must not discount the role of luck – someone being willing to take a chance on you or business idea by empowering you through training, mentorship or funding. Our hope is that, through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, we would help the next business leader or captain of industry be whom they are meant to be. This is our own way to give back and also to empower the generation coming behind us so that they can go even further than we have. As a parent, one’s desire is for your children to do better than you and so you will provide the resources and materials that they need to ensure that they go far in life. Similarly, at the Foundation we are equipping the next generation with the tools they need to succeed.”
As the foremost champion of entrepreneurship in Africa, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is empowering women and men across the African continent through entrepreneurship to catalyse economic growth, drive poverty eradication and ensure job creation. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in the philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions the private sector as the key enabler of economic and social wealth creation in Africa. Through TEFConnect, the Foundation’s proprietary digital platform, it has provided capacity-building support, advisory and market linkages, to over 1.5 million Africans.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is open to entrepreneurs across Africa: new start-ups and existing young businesses, operating in any sector. Prospective applicants should apply now on the digital networking hub for African entrepreneurs, www.tefconnect.com For a list of the selected 2021 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs and more information on our programme, please visit the Official website of the Tony Elumelu Foundation here.
