The problem is not innovation; it is access. Corporate procurement systems are often built for legacy suppliers, leaving new and agile ventures shut out before they even have a chance.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has spent the last decade closing that gap. By funding, training, and mentoring more than 2.5 million young Africans with digital training via TEFConnect, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has created exactly what global companies need: a reliable, de-risked pipeline of suppliers who combine commercial viability with social impact.

Why Africa Matters for Corporate Procurement

The case for an Africa-first sourcing strategy goes far beyond corporate social responsibility:

1. Risk diversification: The pandemic and recent geopolitical shocks have highlighted the dangers of over-reliance on a few supply hubs. Africa’s regional spread offers resilience against global disruption.
2. ESG alignment: African ventures are already innovating in sustainability. From waste recycling into construction materials to solar-powered energy access, partnerships here directly advance environmental, social, and governance metrics.
3. Market insight: Africa’s unique conditions have generated hyper-local innovations — in logistics, agritech, and fintech — that global corporates can integrate for competitive advantage.
4. Growth frontier: Integrating African suppliers are not just about sourcing; it builds brand loyalty and local trust in some of the world’s fastest-growing consumer markets.

From Seed Support to Scalable Supplier

The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s approach goes beyond seed funding. Alumni are trained to meet the governance, reporting, and operational standards that corporates expect.

This transforms what was once a scattered field of ventures into a structured pipeline. Corporations do not need to start from scratch; they can engage directly with TEF-prepared businesses that are already demonstrating traction.

A Case in Point: Expendo Mobility

Michael Wambugu, a 2019 TEF beneficiary from Kenya, founded Expendo Mobility, a Nairobi-based company supporting the continent’s transport gig economy. His venture provides financial and health solutions to boda boda riders, couriers, and other mobility workers who form the backbone of Africa’s logistics networks.

Through Expendo Mobility, riders gain access to:

• Discounted consumables such as fuel, lubricants, and spare parts to reduce operating costs.
• Affordable microinsurance products like “Hosi Bill,” which covers medical expenses.
• Embedded finance solutions, integrated with SACCOs, to simplify deposits, withdrawals, and credit.
• Reliable vehicle servicing, ensuring safety and productivity on the road.

With the Tony Elumelu Foundation training and seed funding, Michael was able to formalise his model, build market traction, and position Expendo as a scalable partner for corporates reliant on last-mile logistics. For procurement teams, this is not simply a small vendor; it is a company providing efficiency, resilience, and impact within a sector that underpins supply chains across Africa.

The Broader Picture

Expendo Mobility is one of thousands of stories across the TEF network. From food processing ventures in Nigeria to clean water solutions in South Africa, TEF alumni are proving that the continent has both the talent and the discipline to deliver at scale. Each venture represents not just an individual success, but also a piece of a larger puzzle: the construction of an Africa-first venture pipeline.

Corporate leaders have long spoken of the need for more inclusive supply chains. The Tony Elumelu Foundation has already built the bridge. Its alumni are trained, vetted, and impact driven. For companies serious about diversifying procurement and tapping into Africa’s growth, the answer is not to wonder where the partners are. They exist. They are Tony Elumelu entrepreneurs.

The pipeline is ready. The next step is corporate action.

The post Africa-First: How the Tony Elumelu Foundation Is Redefining Venture Pipelines appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Following months of intensive business management training and a competitive national pitching exercise, the entrepreneurs have each been awarded US$3,000 in non-refundable seed capital to launch or strengthen their ventures. Their selection marks another important milestone in the Aguka Ideation Entrepreneurship Programme, an initiative delivered through a partnership between the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Youth and Arts of Rwanda, and the European Union. Together, the partners are committed to equipping Rwanda’s next generation of entrepreneurs with the knowledge, mentorship, networks and financial support needed to build businesses that create lasting economic and social value.

For every entrepreneur who participated in the programme, the journey represents far more than receiving seed capital. It is the culmination of months of learning, refining ideas, testing business models, and demonstrating the resilience required to build an enterprise capable of solving real problems.

In many ways, this is what the Aguka Ideation Entrepreneurship Programme was designed to achieve.

Derived from the Kinyarwanda word “Aguka,” meaning “Arise,” the programme reflects a shared ambition to empower Rwanda’s youth to transform innovative ideas into thriving businesses. While access to finance remains an important barrier for many early-stage entrepreneurs, the programme recognises that sustainable businesses require much more than capital alone. Entrepreneurs are equipped with practical business management skills, expert mentorship, business development support and access to one of Africa’s largest entrepreneurship ecosystems, ensuring they are prepared to navigate the realities of building and growing a successful enterprise.

The newest cohort joins an expanding community of entrepreneurs developing solutions across sectors central to Rwanda’s development ambitions, including agriculture, technology, healthcare, education and renewable energy. These are sectors where innovation has the potential not only to improve lives but also to generate employment, strengthen local value chains and contribute to long-term economic resilience.

Their selection also reflects the programme’s emphasis on investing in entrepreneurs at the earliest stages of their journey. By supporting founders when their businesses are still taking shape, the Aguka Ideation Entrepreneurship Programme helps transform ideas into viable enterprises before traditional sources of financing become available. It is an approach that enables entrepreneurs to build stronger business foundations while increasing their potential for long-term growth.

This philosophy mirrors the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s broader commitment to entrepreneurship as the most sustainable pathway to economic transformation across Africa. Since its establishment, the Foundation has championed the belief that when entrepreneurs receive the right support, they create opportunities not only for themselves but also for their communities through innovation, job creation and inclusive economic growth. Across the continent, entrepreneurs supported by the Foundation have gone on to build businesses that generate employment, strengthen local economies and inspire the next generation of business leaders.

The Aguka Ideation Entrepreneurship Programme demonstrates how strategic partnerships can accelerate this vision. By bringing together the expertise and shared commitment of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, UNDP, the Ministry of Youth and Arts of Rwanda and the European Union, the initiative creates a comprehensive support system that extends well beyond financial assistance. It combines technical knowledge, mentorship, institutional collaboration and entrepreneurial networks to give young founders the confidence and capability to succeed.

This year’s milestone also builds upon a growing legacy.

Before welcoming this latest cohort, the programme had already empowered 300 young Rwandan entrepreneurs, providing US$900,000 in cumulative seed capital alongside business management training, mentorship and entrepreneurial support. With another 100 entrepreneurs now joining the programme, the Aguka initiative continues to demonstrate how sustained investment in young innovators can strengthen Rwanda’s entrepreneurial ecosystem while creating opportunities for future generations.

Behind each selected entrepreneur is a story of ambition, perseverance, and possibility.

Some are developing technologies to solve everyday challenges. Others are reimagining agriculture, improving access to healthcare, creating educational solutions, or advancing clean energy innovations. While their ideas differ, they share a common determination to build businesses that respond to local challenges while contributing to Rwanda’s economic future.

As these entrepreneurs begin the next phase of their journey, they also become part of a wider pan-African network of business founders connected through the Tony Elumelu Foundation. This network provides ongoing opportunities for collaboration, learning and peer exchange, reinforcing the understanding that entrepreneurship flourishes when innovators learn from one another and grow together.

The impact of programmes such as Aguka extends far beyond individual enterprises. Every business launched has the potential to create jobs, stimulate local markets, strengthen supply chains, and encourage further innovation within communities. Every entrepreneur empowered represents another opportunity to build inclusive prosperity from the ground up.

For Rwanda, investing in entrepreneurs is ultimately an investment in the country’s future competitiveness. For Africa, it reinforces a growing recognition that young entrepreneurs are among the continent’s greatest assets, capable of driving innovation, creating employment, and shaping resilient economies.

The 100 entrepreneurs celebrated today are only at the beginning of their journey.

Armed with world-class business training, mentorship, a supportive entrepreneurial ecosystem and the confidence that comes from earning the trust of partners who believe in their potential, they now have the opportunity to transform bold ideas into businesses that create lasting impact.

Because when entrepreneurs are equipped with the right tools, they do more than build successful businesses, they create jobs, strengthen communities and help shape a more prosperous future for Rwanda.

The post Tony Elumelu Foundation Announces 100 Rwandan Entrepreneurs for Aguka Ideation Programme appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

What is Africa’s greatest economic asset? 

For decades, the answers have been familiar. Oil. Gas. Minerals. Arable land. Strategic geography. Foreign investment. 

Yet as the continent navigates an era defined by artificial intelligence (AI), climate change, demographic shifts and rapid technological disruption, another answer is becoming impossible to ignore. 

Africa’s greatest asset is its entrepreneurs. 

Not because it sounds inspiring. Because the evidence increasingly points in that direction. 

This conviction sits at the heart of a powerful message delivered by our CEO, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, to African entrepreneurs on this year’s Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSME) Day; a message that serves as both a celebration of entrepreneurial resilience and a challenge to how we think about Africa’s economic future. 

In a world of accelerating change, Soamchi’s message returned to a simple but profound truth: behind every successful economy are entrepreneurs who dared to begin. 

Entrepreneurs who saw opportunities where others saw obstacles. 

Entrepreneurs who created value where others saw limitations. 

Entrepreneurs who built businesses that became engines of jobs, growth, and prosperity. 

Across Africa today, millions of such entrepreneurs are at work. They are farmers improving productivity, manufacturers strengthening local supply chains, creatives exporting African culture to global audiences, healthcare innovators expanding access to care, and tech founders developing solutions tailored to African realities. 

Though they operate in different sectors and markets, they share one thing in common: They form the backbone of Africa’s economies. 

And yet, despite their enormous contribution, MSMEs are too often treated as a secondary part of economic development conversations rather than what they truly are: essential economic infrastructure. 

The world’s most prosperous economies were not built by governments alone. They were built by businesses. More specifically, by generations of entrepreneurs who transformed ideas into enterprises, enterprises into industries, and industries into national growth. 

Africa is no different. 

This is why Somachi Chris-Asoluka’s assertion that “Africa’s transformation will not be driven by aid alone. It will not be driven by governments alone. It will be driven by entrepreneurs who create value, solve problems, and generate shared prosperity” resonates so strongly. 

It challenges a narrative that has long defined conversations about African development. 

For years, development has often been viewed through the lens of external support, institutional interventions, and public-sector programmes. These remain important. But sustainable prosperity requires something more enduring: productive businesses capable of creating jobs, generating income, and strengthening communities. 

Entrepreneurs make that possible. 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s experience over the past decade and a half offers compelling proof. 

What began as a bold belief in entrepreneurship as a catalyst for economic transformation has evolved into the largest philanthropic commitment to entrepreneurship on the African continent. Today, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has empowered over 27,000 entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries, trained over 2.5 million Africans through TEFConnect, our proprietary digital platform, and disbursed over $130 million in seed capital. 

But perhaps the most telling figures are not the inputs. They are the outcomes. 

Businesses backed by the Tony Elumelu Foundation have generated more than $4.2 billion in revenue and created over 1.5 million jobs. 

Pause on those numbers for a moment. 

Behind every dollar generated is a business serving a market need. Behind every job created is an individual with an income, a family with greater stability, and a community with stronger economic prospects. 

Together, these entrepreneurs have positively impacted more than 4 million households and contributed to lifting over 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line. 

More than statistics, these numbers represent livelihoods transformed, opportunities unlocked and futures reshaped. 

They also reinforce a fact the Tony Elumelu Foundation has long understood: when African entrepreneurs are given access to training, networks, mentorship, and capital, they deliver results that extend far beyond individual business success. 

They create ripple effects that strengthen entire economies. 

This year’s MSME Day theme—“Empowering MSMEs through Innovation and Sustainable Industrial Development”—could hardly be more relevant. 

The businesses shaping Africa’s future today are operating in an increasingly complex environment. Artificial intelligence is changing how work is done. Climate pressures are forcing industries to adapt. Consumer expectations are evolving rapidly. Market opportunities emerge and disappear faster than ever before. 

Yet entrepreneurs remain uniquely positioned to navigate these shifts. 

Adaptability has always been their advantage. 

When markets change, they pivot. When challenges emerge, they innovate. When resources are limited, they find creative ways to build. 

This resilience is one of the defining characteristics of African entrepreneurship. 

Every day, entrepreneurs across the continent confront obstacles that would discourage many others, including limited access to financing, infrastructure gaps, regulatory complexities and economic uncertainty. Yet they continue to innovate, create and grow. 

As our CEO acknowledged in her message, their resilience deserves recognition. 

Not simply because perseverance is admirable, but because it is economically significant. 

Every entrepreneur who starts and sustains a business contributes to a larger story of African progress. Every enterprise that scales creates jobs. Every local solution reduces dependence on imported answers. Every thriving business strengthens the foundations of shared prosperity. 

The real significance of MSMEs, therefore, lies not only in their numbers but in their collective impact. 

They are often the first employers in emerging communities. They drive local commerce. They encourage innovation. They nurture talent. They unlock opportunities in places where few previously existed. 

In short, they do the essential work of nation-building. 

That is why MSME Day should be more than an annual celebration. It should serve as a reminder of what has always been true and what the evidence increasingly confirms. 

Africa’s future will not be built in boardrooms alone. It will not be secured through policy declarations alone. It will not be achieved through aid alone. 

It will be built by millions of entrepreneurs solving problems, creating value and generating opportunity where it is needed most. 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s journey (and the outcomes achieved by the entrepreneurs it supports) demonstrates what becomes possible when that belief is backed with action. 

TEF’s bet on African entrepreneurs is paying off. 

Not only in revenue generated or jobs created, important as those measures are. 

It is paying off in stronger communities. More resilient economies. Greater self-reliance. And a growing generation of entrepreneurs proving that Africa’s greatest resource is not what lies beneath the ground, but the ingenuity, determination and ambition of its people. 

That may be the most important lesson from this year’s MSME Day. 

The future belongs to those who create it. 

And across Africa, entrepreneurs are already doing exactly that. 

The post $4.2 Billion in Revenue. 1.5 Million Jobs. Why The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Bet on African Entrepreneurs Is Paying Off appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

رأس مال تأسيسي غير قابل للاسترداد بقيمة 5,000 دولار أمريكي، وتدريب عالمي المستوى، وإرشاد لأجرأ المؤسسين في أفريقيا

أكثر من 24,000 رائد أعمال ممولين، و2.5 مليون شخص تم تدريبهم، و1.5 مليون وظيفة تم خلقها، وإيرادات بلغت 4.2 مليار دولار أمريكي منذ عام 2015

لاغوس، نيجيريا – 1 يناير 2026 – أعلنت مؤسسة توني إلوميلو (TEF) فتح باب التقديم لبرنامج TEF لريادة الأعمال لعام 2026، داعيةً روّاد الأعمال الطموحين من جميع الدول الأفريقية الـ54 إلى التقديم الآن عبر منصة TEFConnect.

يحصل المتقدمون الناجحون على رأس مال تأسيسي غير قابل للاسترداد بقيمة 5,000 دولار أمريكي، إلى جانب تدريب مكثف في مجال الأعمال، وإرشاد، ووصول مباشر إلى أكبر شبكة لريادة الأعمال في أفريقيا.

منذ عام 2015، قام البرنامج بتمويل أكثر من 24,000 رائد أعمال، وتدريب 2.5 مليون أفريقي، وخلق أكثر من 1.5 مليون وظيفة، وتوليد إيرادات تجاوزت 4.2 مليار دولار أمريكي، مما يثبت أن روّاد الأعمال الأفارقة قادرون على تحويل القارة.

كما يدفع البرنامج عجلة النمو الشامل، حيث تشكل النساء الآن 46% من روّاد أعمال TEF، وهي أعلى نسبة مشاركة نسائية يسجلها برنامج بهذا الحجم.

وفي حديثه عن إطلاق برنامج 2026، قال مؤسس مؤسسة توني إلوميلو ورئيس مجلس إدارة مجموعة Heirs Holdings، توني أو. إلوميلو، CFR:

> «أعظم أصول أفريقيا هم شعبها. أفريقيا لا تحتاج إلى مساعدات؛ أفريقيا تحتاج إلى استثمار، في البنية التحتية، وفي المؤسسات، ولكن الأهم من ذلك في شبابنا.

من خلال مؤسسة توني إلوميلو، نُظهر أنه عندما يتم تمكين روّاد الأعمال، فإنهم يخلقون فرص عمل، ويدفعون النمو، ويحوّلون المجتمعات.

روّاد الأعمال هم مستقبل أفريقيا».

باب التقديم لبرنامج TEF لريادة الأعمال لعام 2026 مفتوح من 1 يناير إلى 1 مارس 2026 عبر الموقع www.TEFConnect.com.

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أثر TEF

اضغط هنا للاطلاع على بيانات على مستوى الدول حول روّاد الأعمال الشباب الذين تم دعمهم من خلال تمويل وتدريب وإرشاد TEF في كل دولة أفريقية. ولمعرفة الأثر التحويلي للمؤسسة في جميع أنحاء القارة، يُرجى زيارة صفحة الأثر والتقارير السنوية للمؤسسة. وللاستماع مباشرة إلى تجارب روّاد الأعمال أنفسهم، تفضل بزيارة صفحة قصص النجاح الخاصة بـ TEF.

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نبذة عن مؤسسة توني إلوميلو

مؤسسة توني إلوميلو (TEF) هي المؤسسة الخيرية الرائدة في تمكين جيل جديد من روّاد الأعمال الأفارقة، ودفع القضاء على الفقر، وتحفيز خلق فرص العمل، وتعزيز النمو الاقتصادي الشامل في جميع الدول الأفريقية الـ54. ويستند عمل المؤسسة إلى مفهوم «الأفريقية الرأسمالية» (Africapitalism)، وهو الإيمان بأن القطاع الخاص الأفريقي هو المحرّك الأكثر فاعلية للتنمية طويلة الأجل.

وقد مكّنت القدرة القوية لـ TEF على الوصول إلى روّاد الأعمال عبر مختلف المناطق والقطاعات من إقامة شراكات مبتكرة مع الاتحاد الأوروبي (EU)، وبرنامج الأمم المتحدة الإنمائي (UNDP)، واللجنة الدولية للصليب الأحمر (ICRC)، وحكومة الولايات المتحدة عبر مؤسسة التنمية الأفريقية الأمريكية (USADF)، ومنظمة دول أفريقيا والكاريبي والمحيط الهادئ (OACPS)، ووكالة التنمية الفرنسية (AFD)، ومؤسسة التمويل الإنمائي الألمانية (DEG)، والوكالة الألمانية للتعاون الدولي (GIZ)، والبنك الأفريقي للتنمية (AfDB)، وشركة جوجل، ومنظمة الأمم المتحدة للطفولة (اليونيسف) – مبادرة جيل بلا حدود (GenU)، ومؤسسة خليفة بن زايد آل نهيان (KBZF).

The post مؤسسة توني إلوميلو تفتح باب التقديم لبرنامج ريادة الأعمال لعام 2026 appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Capital d’amorçage non remboursable de 5 000 USD, formation de classe mondiale et mentorat pour les fondateurs les plus audacieux d’Afrique

Plus de 24 000 entrepreneurs financés, 2,5 millions formés, 1,5 million d’emplois créés, 4,2 milliards de dollars de revenus générés depuis 2015

Lagos, Nigeria – 1er janvier 2026 – La Fondation Tony Elumelu (TEF) a ouvert les candidatures pour le Programme d’Entrepreneuriat TEF 2026, appelant les jeunes fondateurs ambitieux des 54 pays africains à postuler dès maintenant sur TEFConnect.

Les candidats retenus reçoivent 5 000 $ US en capital d’amorçage non remboursable, une formation intensive en affaires, un mentorat et un accès direct au plus grand réseau d’entrepreneuriat d’Afrique.

Depuis 2015, le programme a financé plus de 24 000 entrepreneurs, formé 2,5 millions d’Africains, créé plus de 1,5 million d’emplois et généré plus de 4,2 milliards de dollars de revenus, prouvant que les entrepreneurs africains peuvent transformer le continent.

Le programme stimule également une croissance inclusive, les femmes représentant désormais 46 % des entrepreneurs du TEF – le taux de participation féminine le plus élevé enregistré par un programme de cette envergure.

S’exprimant sur le lancement de 2026, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, fondateur de TEF et Président du groupe Heirs Holdings, a déclaré :

“Le plus grand atout de l’Afrique, c’est notre peuple. L’Afrique n’a pas besoin d’aide; l’Afrique a besoin d’investissements, dans les infrastructures, dans les institutions, mais surtout dans notre jeunesse.

À travers la Fondation Tony Elumelu, nous montrons que lorsque les entrepreneurs sont responsabilisés, ils créent des emplois, stimulent la croissance et transforment les communautés.

Les entrepreneurs sont l’avenir de l’Afrique.

Les candidatures au Programme Entrepreneuriat TEF 2026 sont ouvertes du 1er janvier au 1er mars 2026 sur www.TEFConnect.com.

Impact du TEF

Cliquez ici pour consulter des données nationales sur les jeunes entrepreneurs soutenus par le financement, la formation et le mentorat du TEF dans chaque pays africain. Pour explorer l’impact transformateur du TEF à travers le continent, visitez la page d’impact et les rapports annuels de la Fondation. Pour entendre directement les entrepreneurs eux-mêmes, visitez la page TEF Success Stories.

À propos de la Fondation Tony Elumelu

La Fondation Tony Elumelu (TEF) est la principale organisation philanthropique qui donne du pouvoir à une nouvelle génération d’entrepreneurs africains, favorise l’éradication de la pauvreté, catalyse la création d’emplois et fait progresser une croissance économique inclusive dans les 54 pays africains. Le travail du TEF est enraciné dans l’Africapitalisme ; la conviction que le secteur privé africain est le moteur le plus efficace du développement à long terme.

La solide capacité du TEF à atteindre des entrepreneurs dans toutes les zones géographiques et tous secteurs lui a permis de mener des partenariats innovants avec l’Union Européenne (UE), le Programme des Nations Unies pour le Développement (PNUD), le Comité International de la Croix-Rouge (CICR), le gouvernement américain via la Fondation des États-Unis pour le Développement de l’Afrique (USADF), l’Organisation des États d’Afrique, des Caraïbes et du Pacifique (OEACP), l’Agence Française de Développement (AFD), l’Institution allemande de financement du développement (DEG), l’Agence allemande de coopération internationale (GIZ), la Banque Africaine de Développement (BAD), Google, le Fonds des Nations Unies pour l’enfance (UNICEF), Generation Unlimited (GenU) et la Fondation Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (KBZF).

The post La Fondation Tony Elumelu ouvre son Programme d’Entrepreneuriat 2026 appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Capital inicial não reembolsável de US$ 5.000, capacitação de classe mundial e mentoria para os fundadores mais ousados da África

24.000+ empreendedores financiados, 2,5 milhões capacitados, 1,5 milhão de empregos criados, US$4,2 bilhões em receita gerada desde 2015

Lagos, Nigéria – 1 de Janeiro de 2026 – A Fundação Tony Elumelu (TEF) abriu as inscrições para o Programa de  Empreendedorismo TEF 2026, chamando jovens fundadores ambiciosos de todos os 54 países Africanos para se candidatarem agora no TEFConnect.

Os candidatos aprovados recebem US$ 5.000 em capital inicial não reembolsável, capacitação intensiva em negócios, mentoria e acesso direto à maior rede de empreendedorismo da África.

Desde 2015, o Programa financiou mais de 24.000 empreendedores, capacitou 2,5 milhões de Africanos e criou mais de 1,5 milhões de empregos e geraram mais de US$ 4,2 bilhões em receita, provando que empreendedores Africanos podem transformar o continente.

O Programa também está impulsionando o crescimento inclusivo, com as mulheres agora representando 46% dos empreendedores TEF – o maior número de mulheres taxa de participação registrada por um programa dessa escala.

Falando sobre o lançamento em 2026, o fundador da TEF e presidente do Heirs Holdings Group, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, disse:

“O maior patrimônio da África é nosso povo. A África não precisa de ajuda; A África precisa de investimentos, em infraestrutura, em instituições, mas mais criticamente em nossos jovens.

Por meio da Fundação Tony Elumelu, mostramos que, quando empreendedores são empoderados, eles criam empregos, impulsionam o crescimento, e transformar comunidades.

Empreendedores são o futuro da África.”

As inscrições para o Programa de Empreendedorismo TEF 2026 estão abertas de 1 de Janeiro a 1 de Março de 2026 no dia www.TEFConnect.com.

Impacto TEF

Clique aqui para dados em nível nacional sobre jovens empreendedores apoiados pelo financiamento, capacitação e mentoria do TEF em cada país Africano. Para explorar o impacto transformador do TEF em todo o continente, visite a Página de Impacto e os Relatórios Anuais da Fundação. Para ouvir diretamente os próprios empreendedores, visite a página de Histórias de Sucesso do TEF.

Sobre a Fundação Tony Elumelu

A Fundação Tony Elumelu (TEF) é a principal instituição filantrópica que capacita uma nova geração de empreendedores Africanos, impulsionando a erradicação da pobreza, catalisando a criação de empregos e promovendo o crescimento econômico inclusivo em todos os 54 países Africanos. O trabalho da TEF está enraizado no Africapitalismo; a crença de que o setor privado da África é o motor mais eficaz para o desenvolvimento de longo prazo.

A robusta capacidade do TEF de alcançar empreendedores de diferentes geografias e setores permitiu que realizasse atividades inovadoras parcerias com a União Europeia (UE), o Programa das Nações Unidas para o Desenvolvimento (PNUD), o Comitê Internacional da Cruz Vermelha (CICV), o Governo dos EUA por meio da Fundação dos Estados Unidos para o Desenvolvimento Africano (USADF), a Organização da África e do Caribe e Estados do Pacífico (OACPS), a Agência Francesa de Desenvolvimento (AFD), a Instituição Alemã de Financiamento ao Desenvolvimento (DEG), a Agência Alemã de Cooperação Internacional (GIZ), o Banco Africano de Desenvolvimento (BAD), Google, o Fundo das Nações Unidas para a Infância (UNICEF) Geração Ilimitada (GenU) e a Fundação Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan (KBZF).

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Together, they delved into how Africa’s private sector and entrepreneurs are driving sustainable, inclusive growth and reshaping global market systems from the continent’s unique perspective. 

• The global economy has faced a lot of crises in the past few decades: crises of inequality, crises of exclusion, and, of course, in recent times, environmental stress. It is against this background that we came up with this whole philosophy and concept of Africapitalism. 

• And I must say that it’s not an African adaptation of capitalism. It is a redefinition of capitalism to address the germane issues that Lady Lynn just talked about. We believe that the private sector must play a critical role in creating economic prosperity and social transformation for society, for humanity. 

• We believe that in the 21st century, capitalism must be centred on community involvement, community inclusion. We believe, to a large extent, that profit and purpose are not in rivalry. There’s no rivalry between both. 

• Profit and purpose are partners, especially in the African Renaissance, talking about capitalism in the world today. To us, getting the private sector to invest is not about charity per se, but to invest in critical sectors that help to create economic prosperity, and social transformation is what we need. 

• I think that inclusive capitalism is not about charity. It’s about value creation. It’s about inclusion. It’s about making sure that businesses don’t work for profit alone, don’t work for shareholders alone; that they work, and at the core, what they do is community. So, what we do at the Tony Elumelu Foundation, to us, to me, my wife, and, by the way, Lynn was a founding board member of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. 

• She sat on the board for 12 years. So, our interest in humanity did not start today. We thought and realized that our success is not defined by the wealth or the money we have in our bank accounts. 

• We thought we couldn’t be successful if we did not play our own role in helping to catalyze economic prosperity for all on the continent of Africa. But we realized that we can’t do it alone, and that’s why we’re not going on that journey alone. We go with people. 

• We identify young African entrepreneurs every year. We provide non-refundable capital of $5,000 between 3,000 and 5,000 young Africans every year, all across African countries every year, and that is Africapitalism. 

• That is private sector. But when we talk of private sector investment, it’s not just in fiscal infrastructure, but investing in young people is an investment that helps to catalyze more prosperity. 

• Let me start by saying that Africapitalism moves us away from extraction to creation. It moves us away from consumption to production. And it moves us from dependency to dignity. 

• I think it’s all about long-term interest: the interest of Africa is one that we have, will create local value on the continent. 

• We move away from exportation of raw materials. We create—Africa has significant youth unemployment. I call it a betrayal of the young generation in Africa that we cannot create jobs for them. 

• So, in seeking to align with powers or economies of the world, developed economies, there should be first an alignment of our long-term interest: job creation, youth empowerment, inclusivity, inclusion. Which of the global economies best offers or helps our attainment of these core objectives? To me, that would define how we align. 

• Africa needs massive investment in infrastructure to transform the continent. We talk about AI; I just came back from a conversation in Riyadh about AI, and my position is consistent. 

• Africa should not even talk about AI when access to common electricity is not available on the continent. So, we need alignment with global partners, development agencies, private sector. And for me, it’s not African private sector. 

• it’s Africa’s private sector: private sector that does business in Africa. We need to start rethinking, reimagining how we operate on the continent. 

• We need to begin to see, and that’s why I’m 100% aligned with the intersection of community shareholders, value creation, everyone being on table. 

• There’s no reason to align with people who come to the continent for the purpose of extraction of raw materials. We need that raw material processed on the continent so local value addition can be created, so that the youth unemployment that we have in Africa is addressed, so that capitalic intervention activities that help to propel and take Africa to the next level,that would define what we do or who I should be aligning with. 

Watch the session here: https://youtu.be/atxv5LuBvig?si=kmGo_A_ehkc70arO 

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As global interest in impact investing accelerates, TEF’s model provides a blueprint for how philanthropy and markets can work hand in hand to unlock Africa’s potential. 

Philanthropy Meets Private Capital 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is more than a grant scheme; it is a continent-wide mechanism for talent discovery, business validation, and capacity-building. Since 2015, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme has trained millions on its digital hub TEFConnect and supported thousands of entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries. 

This early-stage investment is catalytic: by blending financial literacy, mentorship, and startup capital, TEF lowers the risk profile of African ventures. For Development Finance Institutions (DFIs), venture capital funds, and private equity firms, this means a pipeline of entrepreneurs who already understand markets, discipline, and growth. 

De-Risking Early-Stage Ventures 

African startups are often passed over because investors view them as “too risky” at inception. TEF tackles this directly. Rigorous selection criteria, intensive business training, and structured post-funding support ensure that ventures graduate from the programme as investible propositions. 

The proof lies in outcomes: TEF Alumni have gone on to attract follow-on funding from global impact funds, local VCs, and DFIs. They emerge not just as entrepreneurs, but as disciplined operators with validated models, tested resilience, and growing revenues. 

Building the Pipeline Investors Need 

Impact investing is built on dual outcomes: financial return and social value. The Tony Elumelu Foundation provides both and its alumni’s ventures span sectors critical to Africa’s development; — agriculture, health, fintech, clean energy, and education, — with measurable results in job creation, income generation, and community resilience. 

By aggregating this data across countries and sectors, TEF offers investors something rare in African markets: visibility. Trends in revenue, employment, and sectoral performance are tracked and shared, giving investors the intelligence they need to allocate capital with confidence. 

From Isolated Stories to Systemic Change 

The significance of the Tony Elumelu Foundation goes beyond individual success stories. It demonstrates how philanthropy can serve as the first-loss capital that de-risks ecosystems and primes them for market investment. This is blended finance in action, — where the catalytic role of grants unlocks the leverage of billions in private capital. 

For global institutions seeking credible partners in Africa, TEF is now a proven ally. Its track record in converting seed support into scalable ventures makes it an essential bridge between philanthropy and markets. 

A New Playbook for African Entrepreneurship 

What the Tony Elumelu Foundation is engineering is nothing less than a paradigm shift. It is not only funding startups, but also reconfiguring the very architecture of entrepreneurship in Africa. By turning small amounts of philanthropic capital into investible opportunities, it is demonstrating that Africa’s growth story will be written not only in classrooms or ministries, but in boardrooms and marketplaces. 

For DFIs, impact funds, and private investors, this represents a unique opportunity: to engage with ventures that are not only de-risked but deeply embedded in Africa’s realities while meeting global standards. 

The Stakes Ahead 

Africa’s entrepreneurial future is not waiting to be discovered; it is already being built, enterprise by enterprise, across all 54 countries. By converting early-stage support into investible businesses, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is proving that Africa is not a frontier of risk, but a frontier of innovation. What comes next is no longer a question of potential; it is a question of how quickly the world chooses to back the continent’s builders. 

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While traditional policy levers like building more schools and importing curricula have yielded limited results. The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) employs an Africapitalism-based approach to address human capital challenges in Africa, distinct from traditional policy methods. Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has granted over 2.5 million young Africans with access to trainings via its proprietary digital hub,TEFConnect, and provided over $100 million in direct funding to more than 24,000 entrepreneurs, resulting in the creation of up to 1.5 million jobs. 

This is a parallel skills system in action: entrepreneurship as mass human-capital formation. 

Entrepreneurship as Human Capital Formation. 

Where public policy typically segments “entrepreneurship” from “labour,” TEF collapses the boundary. Our flagship Entrepreneurship Programme treats the entrepreneur not just as a firm-starter, but as a skill node, a multiplier in the labour market. 

The model is simple but radical: teach a founder financial literacy, market analysis, resilience, and digital adoption, and you are indirectly teaching their employees, suppliers, and even customers. 

Our proprietary digital hub, TEFConnect, not only delivers training modules; it creates peer-to-peer learning, mentoring, and access to tools that spill into the broader workforce. TEFConnect functions both as a skills accelerator and a market signal: it not only equips entrepreneurs with practical knowledge but also reveals in real time which capabilities are most in demand and builds them at scale. 

The Macro Impact of Entrepreneurial Training. 

What does this mean for Africa’s labour markets? Three shifts stand out: 

1. From Wage Dependence to Opportunity Creation
   On average, each active Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur creates an average of 13 jobs, with employees earning three times above the national per capita income. Beyond headcount, we are redefining “job” itself by blending formal and informal work into viable pathways for income security. 

1. From Curriculum Deficits to Market-Driven Learning
   Unlike many vocational systems, TEF’s training is modular, digital, and updated in sync with market shifts. With 80% of entrepreneurs generating revenue and reporting 40% increases in turnover, this model keeps skills tethered to actual demand curves, not outdated curricula. 

1. From Human-Capital Scarcity to Distributed Capability
   The OECD has identified a “capability trap” in Africa characterised by overstretched institutions and unfulfilled ambitions. In contrast, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) addresses this by empowering entrepreneurs, decentralizing capability, and fostering resilience; 76% of TEF entrepreneurs integrate into broader value chains. 

Implications for Policymakers and Institutions. 

For governments and development partners, the lesson is not to outsource education to the private sector, but to integrate entrepreneurial training into human-capital strategy. Imagine if ministries of labour  accept TEFConnect not as a n complementary infrastructure: a digital vocational arm reaching youth faster, cheaper, and with measurable results. 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation effectively puts into practice the Harvard Business Review’s argument for treating human capital as a strategic asset. 

Through its scalable digital training and mentorship programmes, the Tony Elumelu Foundation empowers entrepreneurs in challenging environments, reaching historically underserved groups such as women, who make up 46% of Tony Elumelu Foundation beneficiaries. 

The Stakes Ahead 

By 2035, Africa will have the world’s largest working-age population. Whether this becomes a demographic dividend or a demographic disaster will depend less on the number of schools built, and more on how effectively young Africans can convert skills into livelihoods. 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s model clearly shows that investing in entrepreneurship is not just about launching startups; it is about scaling skill systems and embedding resilience into entire labor markets. If governments and global institutions collaborate and scale these lessons, Africa can transform its demographic pressure into a powerful engine of prosperity and opportunity. 

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When women receive capital, they generate more jobs per dollar, reinvest more in households, and build more resilient businesses. The real question is no longer why invest in women, but why would any rational economy not?

The Investing in Young Businesses in African Women Entrepreneurship for Africa (IYBA-WE4A) programme, spearheaded in partnership with the European Union, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), and implemented by the German Development Agency (GIZ) and the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), provides one of the clearest test cases to date. By combining seed capital, capacity building, and digital learning through TEFConnect, IYBA-WE4A has channeled millions of dollars into women-led businesses across the continent. The results are no longer anecdotal. They point to an investable thesis: gender lens entrepreneurship delivers measurable, outsized returns not only for women, but for labour markets and national economies. 

Framing Investment in Women as an Economic Imperative 

Too often, investment in women entrepreneurs is justified in the language of equity or moral duty. While justice matters, the economic evidence is stronger still. Global studies from the IMF and McKinsey have consistently shown that narrowing gender gaps in labour force participation could add trillions to global GDP. Yet these figures often remain abstract, detached from the lived realities of African markets where informality is high, finance is scarce, and education systems are misaligned with demand. 

IYBA-WE4A grounds this global debate in empirical reality. In 2021, over 798 African women-led enterprises received USD $3.99 million in grant funding under the programme. Each beneficiary received $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, accompanied by capacity-building training, mentoring, and in some cases follow-on catalytic investments of up to €50,000 for high-growth firms. These grants, though not vast by macroeconomic standards, have yielded disproportionate impact creating jobs, expanding revenues, and building market linkages across the continent. 

Entrepreneurship as Human Capital Policy 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation has long argued that entrepreneurship is not peripheral to Africa’s labour markets; it is the labour market.  

Women have been central to the TEF story. 46% of all TEF beneficiaries are women, and within the IYBA-WE4A programme specifically, the figure is 100%. Our data shows that each TEF beneficiary with an active business creates an average of 13 jobs, and that employees in these firms earn three times the national per-capita income. Over half of their workforce are women and youth. Profits average 22 times national income per capita, and 64% of these businesses support other SMEs as suppliers and vendors. 

These are not peripheral gains. They illustrate entrepreneurship as a system of human capital formation: every grant dollar is simultaneously training a founder, formalising jobs, raising wages, and building domestic supply chains. 

The WE4A Multiplier 

The outcomes of WE4A demonstrate how seed capital, when targeted at women founders, multiplies across multiple dimensions: 

• Job Creation: Beneficiaries consistently report new hires within 12–18 months of receiving capital. Women-led firms are more likely to employ women and youth, creating a virtuous cycle of inclusion. 

• Revenue Growth: Internal monitoring shows many WE4A enterprises doubling revenues post-intervention, with profits channelled into reinvestment and expansion. 

• Social Spillovers: Women entrepreneurs tend to reinvest earnings into household education, healthcare, and community development. This indirect impact is harder to quantify but significantly strengthens human development outcomes alongside economic ones. 

The cost-per-job and return-on-investment (ROI) of funding women founders compares favourably with many large-scale infrastructure or vocational training schemes. Put differently, if an economist were to run a benefit–cost analysis, entrepreneurship support for women would not only clear the bar of social justification but outperform many conventional policy levers. 

Case Narratives: Grounding Data in Lived Enterprise 

Numbers alone cannot convey the systemic patterns. Micro-narratives from WE4A beneficiaries illustrate how gendered ROI plays out on the ground. 

• Kenya – Dial a Pad is transforming access to feminine hygiene and reproductive healthcare through tech-enabled solutions. Founded to address period poverty, the platform combines a mobile app offering e-commerce and telemedicine with locally manufactured, IoT-enabled sanitary towel dispensers. Backed by the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Dial a Pad has deployed its smart dispensers in schools across Kenya, where 7 in 10 girls miss school due to lack of menstrual products. To date, the initiative has reached over 10,000 school-going girls, enabled uninterrupted education and promoted good health and well-being for African girls and women. 

• Uganda – Dromedic is tackling the critical shortage of essential medical supplies through smart logistics and technology. Founded to address the life-threatening unavailability of blood in Uganda, the platform combines data-driven inventory management with a digital discovery system that connects hospitals, patients, and doctors to blood banks and donors. With support from the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Dromedic ensures safe, fast, and affordable delivery of medical supplies—such as blood—within 45 minutes. So far, over 1,000 pints of blood and other vital items including oxygen cylinders, face masks, and vaccines have been delivered to more than 50 hospitals and communities across Uganda. 

• Mauritius – Recycle Moi Africa’s 100% biodegradable sanitary napkins. Made from natural bamboo and corn fibre, and packaged in recyclable cardboard, the napkins are free from toxins, bleaches, latex, perfumes, and plastic—making them safe for sensitive skin and environmentally friendly.  Recycle Moi operates through an innovative “mini factory” model that equips rural women to produce and distribute the pads within their communities. The initiative not only promotes sustainable health practices but also creates jobs and empowers women at the grassroots level. 

• Nigeria – ORÍKÌ Group is Nigeria’s all-natural farm-to-skin brand combining luxury wellness with indigenous skincare. Founded to promote holistic beauty and wellness, ORÍKÌ operates a chain of luxury spas powered by its own line of potent, botanical-based products. Backed by the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the brand has grown to include 7 spas, 1 manufacturing division, and UNWIND by ORÍKÌ—Africa’s first tech platform offering wellness on demand. With global expansion underway through the ORÍKÌ Franchise, the brand continues to elevate African wellness, delivering relaxation, skincare, and empowerment from farm to face. 

Each case illustrates the layered return: financial growth, job creation, social empowerment, and community resilience. 

From Pilot to Policy: The Implications for Africa’s Labour Markets 

By 2035, Africa will host the world’s largest working-age population. The demographic dividend will not materialise simply by building more schools or launching new vocational centres. It will depend on how effectively young Africans, and especially women, translate skills into livelihoods. 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s approach demonstrates that entrepreneurship training extends far beyond launching startups, it is about creating decentralised skill-building systems that strengthen labour markets with resilience. Each entrepreneur becomes a hub of expertise, amplifying capabilities among employees, suppliers, and communities. 

A Gendered Dividend, If Seized 

The case for investing in women entrepreneurs is no longer simply moral or rhetorical. It is empirical and economic. WE4A demonstrates that women-led enterprises deliver superior returns across financial, social, and systemic dimensions. They create jobs at lower cost, pay higher wages, and reinvest in households and communities. 

The Tony Elumelu Foundation has shown the world what is possible when women founders are given capital, training, mentoring, and access.  

If scaled and embedded into policy, the gendered ROI of investing in women could well define Africa’s growth trajectory turning population pressure into shared prosperity. 

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