The Business Management training was conducted exclusively on TEFConnect,  the Foundation’s proprietary digital platform that provides capacity-building support, advisory and market linkages to over 1 Million Africans and counting.

The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme Business Management Training equips entrepreneurs with critical skills required to launch and run their businesses at the early growth stage. With a unique curriculum that encompasses topics on Starting Your Business, Business Management & Fundamentals, Leadership & Business Growth, Selecting and Building a Team, amongst others, entrepreneurs are effectively armed to achieve business growth, profitability, and sustained success.

Entrepreneurs were hosted to weekly information sessions, as part of the training, to address relevant concerns and share vital programme updates. All entrepreneurs received active support from coaches and mentors who provided technical guidance, counsel and one-one interaction throughout the duration of the training programme.

The training, which is one element of the 7 pillars of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, was carried out in the official African languages including English, French, Portuguese and Arabic, and over 40 percent of trained participants were women.

Commenting on this milestone, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, said “Every year, our commitment to transform Africa is further strengthened with the passion, resilience and talent of the high-calibre entrepreneurs who onboard our flagship programme. Our curricular provides a holistic opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn, grow and contribute to the development of their communities.”

The Chief Executive Officer added: “Furthermore, it is a testament to the eagerness and readiness of African entrepreneurs across all of Africa to make themselves available to transform the continent for good. I would like to commend these entrepreneurs for their discipline, dedication and hard work throughout the training and look forward to the immense impact of their businesses across diverse sectors in Africa. We remain committed to empowering African entrepreneurs with the required resources and support that will ensure that their businesses can scale and drive sustainable change on the continent”.

The TEF Entrepreneurship Training is immediately followed by a Business Plan review process for each entrepreneur. The top-performing entrepreneurs subsequently participate in the Pitching phase of the Programme after which successful entrepreneurs receive a non-returnable seed capital of US$5000 each.

The leading African philanthropy also hopes to train and empower thousands more across the African continent as part of its commitment to catalyze economic growth, drive poverty eradication and ensure job creation.

In 2020, the Tony Elumelu Foundation marked ten years of impact, having empowered and funded nearly 10,000 African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries as part of its US$100 million TEF Entrepreneurship Programme. The Tony Elumelu Foundation is inspired by Tony Elumelu’s economic philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the long-term social and economic development of the African continent.

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The initiative will fund 200 additional young African entrepreneurs complementing the US$100M Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme that has identified, trained, mentored and funded over 9,000 entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries since 2015. The partnership will also help to scale TEFConnect, the Foundation’s proprietary digital platform supporting African entrepreneurs and provide platform access to an additional 500,000 SMEs. The initiative is co-financed by DEG with 1.5 million Euro from the develoPPP Program funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).

In alignment with TEF and DEG’s development policy, the partnership will create jobs and income, boost economic growth and generate local value in Africa. It will make important contributions to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by providing funding, technical skills and comprehensive business readiness to drive better performance of SMEs in accordance with SDG 1 (No poverty), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure).

Entrepreneurs will be connected to networking support for further skills development, knowledge sharing and market linkages through a lifetime membership on TEFConnect. In addition, periodic impact assessment of up to 10,000 SMEs will be conducted through the partnership to inform policies and laws that will improve the environment for small enterprises in Africa, directly catalysing Africa’s economic growth and contributing to the continent’s prosperity and social development. 

Commenting on the partnership, the CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, stated, “In our continued quest to invest in African entrepreneurs, this partnership will fully capacitize young entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. DEG is a global player in fostering efforts in emerging markets and developing economies to generate employment, which is a mission we are dedicated to through entrepreneurship. African Entrepreneurs are the engines of growth, innovation and wealth creation in Africa, and there is no better time to invest in their development. The projected outcome of this partnership encompasses the entire entrepreneurial value chain and will create massive opportunity for entrepreneurs to build their ventures while equipping them with the skills to sustain business growth.”

Bernd Tilemann, Head of DEG’s West Africa office added that “DEG is delighted to start this cooperation and especially eager to support TEF’s digitalisation efforts and the drive for impact inclusion and its critical evaluation, which are topics that DEG is very passionate about. We believe these measures will form a great foundation to enable TEF to scale its efforts to boost entrepreneurship and small enterprise development in Nigeria and across the continent.”

The Tony Elumelu Foundation’s US$100 million Entrepreneurship Programme was launched in 2015 to empower 10,000 entrepreneurs over 10 years. Successful applicants receive world-class business training, mentorship, non-refundable seed capital of US$5,000, and global networking opportunities.  The Programme is open to entrepreneurs across all countries in Africa, both new start-ups and existing young businesses, operating in all major economic sectors.

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Most entrepreneurs go about their businesses by identifying a gap in the market and coming up with solutions on how to fill the gap by assembling or bringing together the resources and capabilities needed.

Here are some ways to identify business opportunities that are right for you:

1. Look at your competitors

Research to see what other businesses are doing or not doing. What makes your customers choose you and what makes their customers choose them? Analysing your competitors will help you identify key business opportunities to expand your market reach.

2. Listen to your customers

Your customers will always something to say about your products and services—good or bad. Listening to their frequently asked questions, feedbacks and complaints can help to identify key business opportunities to expand and develop your current products and services.

Never take a break from listening to your customers, and you will understand more of what customers want, where they want it, how they want a product or service supplied, when they want it supplied, and at what price.

All of these should inform your next steps and your strategy.

3. Monitor industry trends and insights

Tune in to what is happening in your industry. This will help to identify patterns and opportunities that may not be obvious at first. Subscribe to publications, follow experts in your industry, join relevant groups, and set Google alerts for key industry terms. Stay abreast and educate yourself on the latest techniques and trends.

4. Draw inspiration from your own personal experiences.

Many of the most powerful world-changing ideas will come from the experiences and challenges an entrepreneur has faced in his or her own life. Considering problems that are affecting your personal life and work can lead the way to identify more impactful business opportunities.

5. Find opportunities in your local community.

One of the best ways to identify world-changing ideas is to start locally: Look for issues that concern your local community.

Joining volunteer groups and reading news that discusses problems in your city is a great way to learn more about the issues your community is trying to address. This can help you validate your ideas and start small as you prepare to take your idea to the world.

6. Ask others how you can help.

Coming up with ideas on your own is not always easy, but there could be people around you who have great experiences and insights that you can tap into.

External input can help you generate more ideas regarding issues you can address and how your business could solve these problems.

Whether you are seeking to improve living conditions for impoverished people or trying to revolutionize your industry, finding a greater purpose in your work can make all the difference for your entrepreneurial efforts.

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.

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To commemorate the 2021 Africa Day, TEFConnect, the leading digital networking platform for African entrepreneurs is introducing its annual initiative “#TEFConnectAfrica50: 50 Entrepreneurs to Connect with in Africa” to highlight and project entrepreneurs across the continent whose businesses are making a positive impact.

In a year characterised by uncertainty, some of these entrepreneurs adapted to match the demands of their market, while some are leading conversation for a more inclusive and climate-conscious society by promoting eco-innovation, waste management and energy efficiency.

Unique in their individual mission to reshape, transform and impact, these new entrants and existing players, are celebrated for their entrepreneurial spirits. Whether it is in Agri-business, healthcare, ICT, Fashion, or environmental conservation, these African entrepreneurs are skilled and dedicated.

TEFConnect currently provides capacity-building support, advisory and market linkages to over 1million Africans and counting. Launched by the Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEFConnect enables African Entrepreneurs foster meaningful relationships and partnerships with each other, while connecting small businesses to growth opportunities in Africa and beyond.

Indeed, as Africa is estimated to witness 29million entrants in its labour force by 2030, of which SMEs are expected to cater to 90% of the pool, there is no better time to look inwardly at our young entrepreneurs.

Here are 50 entrepreneurs in Africa we recommend connecting with:

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Meet all the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs here

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