In celebration of Mali’s Independence Day, the Tony Elumelu Foundation proudly spotlights Maliki Hamadoun Sankaré, a young Malian entrepreneur and founder of Socco-Agro-Business, a company specialising in the production and commercialisation of rice and vegetables. Established in 2020, Socco-Agro-Business spans 24 hectares of agricultural land, driving change in Mali’s agricultural sector by creating jobs and empowering local communities.

Driven by a desire to uplift his community, Maliki saw the potential of Mali’s agricultural sector, where over 80% of the population relies on agriculture. His mission is clear: “We want to create several jobs in the agricultural sector by 2030, especially for the youth in rural areas, to reduce rural exodus.” Maliki states. His efforts have already provided full-time employment to 3 people and numerous daily labourers. He has also trained over 150 individuals, including youth and women in rural cooperatives. Maliki now generates  an average annual revenue of 1,500,000 – 2,000,000 FCFA. 

With a vision for digital agriculture, Maliki is committed to integrating technology into farming to monitor water and fertilizer use, a critical component of his long-term projects. He was one of the 2021 recipients of $2,500 seed funding from the Tony Elumelu Foundation, which allowed him to expand his rice production business. Maliki was one of the 1,860 Malian beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) which was designed and implemented with a deep understanding of the regional context and the needs of young entrepreneurs within a fragile environment

Reflecting on the support from the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Maliki credits not only the financial assistance but also the entrepreneurial training that strengthened his business skills. Maliki’s work has caught international attention. His business collaborates with countries such as Mali, Senegal, Guinea, and Burkina Faso, and partners with global organisations like the World Food Programme (WFP). His achievements were recently highlighted in Le Mali Émergent, where he shared his ambition to create sustainable employment and contribute to food security across Africa. His participation in initiatives like the UNDP Sense Maker Workshop further underscores his dedication to driving economic empowerment in his country.Maliki’s story is one of resilience, innovation, and dedication to agricultural transformation. He firmly believes that “Africa’s land holds immense wealth and opportunity” and encourages governments to invest in agriculture to ensure food self-sufficiency across the continent.

Join us in celebrating Maliki Sankaré, a visionary leader building a brighter future for Mali through agriculture!

About the Tony Elumelu Foundation 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. prosperity. In 2015, Elumelu and his family committed US$ 100 million to launch a legacy entrepreneurship programme, to empower young African entrepreneurs.   

Since the launch of the Programme, the Foundation has given access to training to over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed USD$100 million in direct funding to 20,000+ young African women and men, who have collectively generated over USD$2.5 billion in revenue and created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs across Africa. 

The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.” 

The post Maliki Sankaré: Transforming Mali’s Agricultural Landscape with TEF Support appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

After spending a lot of time on the streets searching for a job, Ogola Kange decided to become an entrepreneur, she began to make and deliver healthy food to customers within her location. See some months of business success, she went to register his business Smiley’z Mobile Kitchen in 2014.  

Seed Grant in 2015 from the TEF Program

Ogola’s company attempts to reduce post-harvest losses in various agricultural produce, especially tomatoes. She helps farmers with processing tomatoes organically, giving it a longer shelf life, while achieving some of the sustainable development goals. 

“The TEF program and the seed grant in 2015 was the real basis of my Entrepreneurship resilience and success today. That first application, the 12 weeks learning, and the boot camp are the things that I have built upon over the years, modifying and improving the business plan till what it is today.”  

Smiley’z impact focus has two-dimension, poverty reduction and environmental conservation.  The average woman living in rural Nigeria earns $0.3 a day, with limited skills or opportunities to increase their livelihood. Smiley’z addresses this in two ways: First by working with 35 smallholder farmers to purchase their excess tomatoes. Providing market access to these women, Smiley’z increases their sales by 25% on average per annum. Secondly, she trains women on how to develop cottage industry agricultural products.  

She has provided entrepreneurship training to over 200 women. Fifty of them are now successfully starting their own businesses to support themselves and their employees. Smiley’z Tomato products are part of Solar Impulse Foundations’ 1,000 Solutions and efficient ways of production. The small farmers it works with are trained in ecological farming best practices, including how to reduce CO2 emissions, energy and water usage, and reduce tomato production waste. While in its own production process it uses glass jars to enable recycling of its products, renewable energy and post-harvest waste reduction. 

Since TEF, Smiley’z has gotten many more certifications, trainings, awards, grants and VC investment. A Mandela Washington Fellow, USAID and USADF beneficiary, GOZ NICOP SENDIN beneficiary to name a few. 

About The Tony Elumelu Foundation

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed nearly USD$100 million in direct funding to 18,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.

The post Seed Grant in 2015: Ogola, TEF Alumni from Nigeria Success Story appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Olanrewaju Samuel Faleye took the initiative to contribute to solving the problem of the spice and confectionaries segment of agricultural products. 

“I made the decision to become an entrepreneur to develop a solution that will reduce post-harvest loss, increase income of small holder farmers, increase access to quality foods at affordable prices and create employment.”   

He started his production of sachet powdered pepper, earning an average of $100 monthly with only himself as the employee. From the support he got through the TEF program with seed capital, he currently has 30 direct staff and over 80 distributors for his product across several zones in Nigeria. He sells an average of 240,000 sachets of his product monthly with an average earning of $6000. He has improved the livelihood of more than 20 small-scale pepper farmers, providing empowerment interventions for women in his society.  

“The Seed Capital, training and Mentoring has made all the difference in my life. I have also leveraged on TEF Platform for networking and to grow my business.” 

Olarenwaju has participated in the 7th International Trade Fair for Agriculture in 2022, Participated in the Nourishing for Africa Entrepreneurship Program in 2021, Participated in Global Entrepreneurship Training supported by UNESCO in 2019, and also Participated in the International Breweries PLC kickstart Foundation Program in 2018. 

In Summary

Through innovation, determination, and strategic support from various entrepreneurship initiatives, Olanrewaju Samuel Faleye has not only built a successful business but has also made significant strides in combating post-harvest losses and empowering local farmers. His story underscores the transformative impact of targeted interventions in addressing key challenges within Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

By focusing on solutions like sachet powdered pepper and leveraging entrepreneurial programs, Olanrewaju exemplifies how individuals can drive positive change in their communities while building sustainable businesses.

This African success story highlights the importance of addressing post-harvest loss issues and showcases a tangible example of entrepreneurial success in Nigeria’s agricultural sector.

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From Humble Beginnings to Business Expansion

Starting in 2012, Afamefuna learned the art of baking and initially catered to his church community, creating cakes for Sunday school children. Encouraged by positive feedback, he soon began receiving orders for birthday cakes and other celebratory treats, which laid the foundation for his business.

Evolution of Speedmeals

Today, Speedmeals has grown beyond a bakery to encompass a diverse range of services under its umbrella. It manufactures spices and offers comprehensive hospitality solutions, including restaurant and hotel setup, event catering, culinary training, and consultancy for start-up catering enterprises aiming to scale.

Impact: Jobs Created and Revenue Growth

Before his participation in the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme, Afamefuna operated with just an idea and no employees. Thanks to the support received, he now employs a dedicated team of 75-80 individuals.

Receiving a TEF seed capital of US $5,000 was pivotal in establishing Speedmeals’ first store. Today, the company boasts an impressive annual revenue of £100,000,000, illustrating significant growth and sustainability in the competitive food industry.

Overcoming Challenges and Seizing Opportunities

The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges for many businesses, but for Speedmeals, it became a catalyst for innovation. Diversifying into meal kit production allowed the business to adapt and thrive during uncertain times, demonstrating resilience and foresight in business strategy.

Milestones and Recognition

Speedmeals’ success story includes recognition through strategic partnerships, such as the Foundation’s collaboration with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC). Through the Export Expansion Facility Programme (EEFP), Speedmeals has tapped into a £400 million initiative aimed at enhancing the performance of TEF Entrepreneurs within Nigeria’s non-oil export sector.

Join Speedmeals on their Journey

Witness firsthand how Afamefuna’s entrepreneurial spirit and strategic decisions have propelled Speedmeals to become a leading player in Africa’s food industry. Stay updated on their achievements and explore opportunities to collaborate or learn from their journey. Watch the Video below;

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Recent estimates show that about 88% of all flowering plants and 35% of the global plant-based food supply rely on pollinators to be successful. Pollination is a vital ecological service provided by a wide range of insect species including bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, beetles, and moths.  

With a strong belief in transforming the rural landscape into business empires, Olumide Ogunbanjo offers farmers free beehives on their farms to help improve the yield of grown fruits and vegetables by using the honeybees as pollinators. 

“I grew up as a farm boy in the ancient town of Iseyin, Oyo State, my parent were peasant farmers, and they could hardly take care of me and my siblings.  I had dreams of studying agriculture and returning to the farmlands to create wealth for the farming populace. I have a strong belief that I could be the agent of change in transforming the rural landscape into business empire.” 

From the initial seed fund, he got through the TEF entrepreneurship program, he expanded a single bee farm into a group of “outsourced bee farms.”, created a new business model, “Pollination as a Service (PaaS), invented and patented a Smart Beehive and rebranded as AgroData.  

He currently provides direct full-time employment to 11 and part-time jobs to 27 with operates across Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Abuja, Dakar, and Senegal, and has a generated a total revenue of $46,700 till date.  

“TEF was the initial seed fund we got in the very 1st edition in 2015. We were basically beekeepers at that time, producing FRESHDEW BEE HONEY.  The $5000 enabled us to expand a single bee farm into a group of “outsourced bee farms”.  The expansion gave us a clue about the communal effects of having bees on the farms.  We created a new biz model ” Pollination as a Service (PaaS), invented and patented a Smart Beehive and rebranded as AgroData.” 

From the support through the TEF program, his company has been nominated for several awards and fellowships programs and positively impacted the lives of over 21,000 rural dwellers.  

About The Tony Elumelu Foundation

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed nearly USD$100 million in direct funding to 18,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.

The post Success Story of Olamide, 2015 TEF Alumni in Agriculture Sector appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Peace Agwu Okorie took the initiative to address the hunger and gender gap issues in his community, promoting good health and well-being of young mothers and women in Abia and Benue State through the establishment of PAO Modern farms, which is a social enterprise to reduce farm produce wastage to the barest minimum. She implemented this transformation by enabling them to build backyard sustainable poultry farming.  

Peace’s passion to eradicate hunger and gender issues emanated the idea to empower 20 young mothers and women in 6 months through training to enable them to build sustainable poultry farming to address the gender gap issues by creating jobs. 

She started the business by producing 10kg of jute leaves and 200 birds every two months through the support, she got through the TEF program. She currently produces 25kg bags of jute leaves and 800 birds every two months, using modern nipple pipe construction, making an average of USD 501 Monthly. She employs six people directly and 23 people indirectly.   

Peace acknowledged that the TEF training on digital marketing strategies educated her on the solutions needed for her business. Their customer database has grown from 10% to 41% largely using digital marketing and social media platforms to advertise their goods. This has also increased their profit margins from 20% to 51% since they received funding. 

“TEF Training on Digital Marketing Strategies Sessions educated me on the solutions. In-fact, we used digital marketing strategies to reach a wider targeted audience at a lower cost using WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram etc. making us grown our customer’s data base from 10% to 41% which eventually help us earning higher revenues from 20% profit margins to 51% profit margins after the TEF programme.” 

Peace is passionate about learning and acquiring knowledge; training, capacity building, and special skills because she understands that “to learn is to be alive, never satisfied with the knowledge you have but always seeking more.” 

About The Tony Elumelu Foundation

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed nearly USD$100 million in direct funding to 18,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.

The post Success Story of Peace, 2019 TEF Alumni in Agriculture Sector appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Onome Matilda Odogene, a computer engineer with ten years of experience in the oil and gas sector, was interested in entrepreneurship. Her goal was to get youths in the Niger Delta region employed in sectors of the economy apart from oil and make African chefs top in the global culinary ranking.

“I want to change the narrative that we can get the youths gainfully employed in other sectors of the economy beside oil. I want African chefs to be top in the global culinary rank by equipping the chefs with professional skills, knowledge, and competence needed to be a successful chef or food business owners/start- up.”

Styda is set to be a global culinary business, that is set to revolutionize the food/foodservices industry in Nigeria. Styda Culinary is an academy that provides affordable, convenient and quality culinary training to chefs, would-be chefs, food business owners/startups, food enthusiast etc to interested clients within Warri and environs.

“The seed capital, business management training and priceless networks that I have gotten through the TEF platform has made all the difference in my business and changed my life entirely.”

Today, she has trained over 300 chefs and revamped over 30 foodservice businesses. She generated $15,350 minimum direct annual revenue, employed about six staff directly, and created jobs for hundreds of people. She has impacted people within the Niger Delta region by creating countless employment opportunities.

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Smoothie Express, her brand, was not only passion-fuelled but also a solution to a struggle she experienced, which was her driving force. She observed the accessibility gap as many companies were not offering healthy meals and beverages on a large scale; that was how her company was birthed. She says her goal is to be the pre-eminent health and wellness lifestyle company in Africa, and this includes a sustainable future.

The African Success Story of Smoothie Express

“I wanted to be at the forefront of real change and in a position to do so. Smoothie Express was not only passion-fuelled, but it was also relatable. This was my struggle as well and I knew I was not only the one facing this struggle. I wanted people to see healthy living as a lifestyle and not a luxury.  This was my driving force.”

Smoothie Express has generated over $1M in revenue since its inception (2015) through its QSR outlets, B2B sales, subscriptions, and events. The business currently has over 30 direct and indirect employees.

“I always say that the TEF programme could not have come at a better time for Smoothie Express. We were selected in 2015 when we had just started operations. We were still fresh into the market and entrepreneurship as a whole and needed all the mentorship and support we could lay our hands on. The support, resources and recognition that TEF brought cannot be over emphasised and it has remained constant over the years. It moulded us into the super business savvy entrepreneurs we are today.”

The TEF program opened her business with a plethora of opportunities. Her business has been featured in different interviews and radio shows. Just recently, she got nominated as one of the 100 entrepreneurs by Seedstars in collaboration with SAFEEM, an accelerator program that gave the company additional 10,000 euros in grant funding.

About The Tony Elumelu Foundation

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed nearly USD$100 million in direct funding to 18,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.

The post Meet Omowunmi, 2015 TEF Alumni Who Got Funding for Smoothie Business appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Izu Freeman decided to help micro, small and medium businesses to digitalize their processes for free to enable them to close the small business funding gaps in Africa in order to have access to resources to grow and contribute to job creation.

“Seeing the devastating impact of poverty all around me, motivated me into becoming an entrepreneur; knowing that I can contribute both in direct and indirect job creation that will contribute to poverty reduction.”

Seed Funding for MSMEs in Nigeria

The company has users in Nigeria and Ghana.  They have won two National Prizes from National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) respectively in 2021.  They were invited on an all-expense-paid trip to exhibit our solution in GITEXT Dubai in 2021 and LEAP Riyadh Saudi Arabia in February 2022. They are currently in an acceleration program in New York USA; raising $250,000 USD.  They also have a demand to set up in Saudi Arabia and Poland with invitation by top two banks in those countries, respectively. They are in a serious conversation with MTN Nigeria in partnering to cocreate enterprise products for small businesses.

They have also created 4 full-time jobs and over 10 part-time jobs.

“The seed funding got me started in this journey and another transformational aspect of TEF is knowing that I can always get more supports from TEF as soon as I achieve certain tractions. We are contributing to the digitalization of micro, small and medium businesses thereby democratizing access to historical and transparent MSMEs data for proper investment, lending and granting decision making. And we are also contributing to Job creation.”

About The Tony Elumelu Foundation

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFconnect, and disbursed nearly USD$100 million in direct funding to 18,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.

The post Meet Izu Freeman, 2019 TEF Alumni who is into processing, distribution of products from cassava. appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

In 2017, before the TEF program, Olanrewaju was only selling one product on the street around the city. Presently he has seven products in about nine states in Nigeria and has created direct jobs for 14 Nigerians. He provides farm jobs for women – 8 women working in his factory and several women selling his products in the markets with monthly revenue of about 5000 USD. His company has local and international partnerships, with the products leaving Nigeria’s coast to Europe and America. 

African Success Story in Food Processing Business

Olarewaju said the seed capital and the 12 weeks of entrepreneurship training have been vital for his business. During the 2019 TEF forum, he was able to exhibit at the UBA marketplace and connected with several people that have impacted his business in terms of finances and recommendations.

“We have provided market opportunities for farmers -hundreds of tonnes of farm-produced processed.  We have provided off-farm jobs for women- 8 women working in our factory and several women selling our products in the markets.  We have created opportunity for industrial attachment for students- 12 students directly trained and more than 500 on excursion.”

About The Tony Elumelu Foundation

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFconnect, and disbursed nearly USD$100 million in direct funding to 18,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs. The Foundation’s mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.

The post Meet 2017 TEF Alumni, Olanrewaju Fadodun who started food processing and training services business appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.