4,949 enterprises benefit from Elumelu training, grants

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, an African organisation empowering business and innovative ideas, has selected 4,949 entrepreneurs for its 2021 entrepreneurship programme.

The 2021 beneficiaries were selected from a pool of over 400,000 applications, based on their innovation, performance, and growth potential to create jobs and eradicate poverty on the continent.

The ventures made of new start-ups and existing small businesses comprising 68 percent female entrepreneurs representation this year, were taken through business training, mentorship and coaching and will have a life-time access to the Tony Elumelu Foundation alumni network.

Each entrepreneur will receive Sh560,000 ($5000) grant as capital for the business.

“Today, we have trained ten times more young African entrepreneurs than we have trained from 2015 to 2019 combined. Today in 2021, we will be paying out a record Sh2.77 billion ($24,750,000) directly to the hands of African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries. This is impact,” said Tony Elumelu Foundation chief executive, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu.

The organisation plans to empower 100,000 young African entrepreneurs over the next 10 years across Africa.

Since its inception in 2010, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has funded 15,847 entrepreneurs who have created more than 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Through TEFConnect, the Foundation’s proprietary digital platform, it has provided capacity-building support, advisory and market linkages, to over 1.5 million Africans.

“We need to keep creating the right enabling environment to enable our young ones to succeed. We must realise that their success is success for all of us on the continent,” said the Founder of the foundation, Tony Elumelu.

“We must prioritise them because nations and continents that prioritise their people, succeed.”