Dans l’intervalle, la Fondation Tony Elumelu offrira une formation gratuite sur TEFConnect tout en travaillant avec les décideurs, les gouvernements et les institutions de financement du développement pour catalyser un soutien supplémentaire aux entrepreneurs africains post-coronavirus.  TEFConnect hébergera également des informations essentielles sur la pandémie pour protéger la santé et la sécurité de tous les Africains, ainsi que des histoires d’impacts d’entrepreneurs africains créant des solutions innovantes pour lutter contre l’épidémie de coronavirus.

La santé et la sécurité sont notre priorité, et la Fondation Tony Elumelu exhorte tout le monde à rester en sécurité et à observer les précautions sanitaires définies par l’Organisation mondiale de la santé (OMS), les gouvernements nationaux et d’autres organisations de santé pertinentes.

Pour plus d’informations, y compris les prochaines étapes pour les entrepreneurs qui ont postulé au programme 2020, veuillez visiter la foire aux questions (FAQ) en cliquant ICI.

Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu
CEO
Fondation Tony Elumelu
Lagos, Nigeria.

The post ANNONCE: La Fondation Tony Elumelu reporte le programme d’entrepreneuriat TEF 2020 et le forum TEF jusqu’en 2021 appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Em resposta à atual crise resultante da pandemia de coronavírus, a filantropia africana focada no empreendedorismo, a Fundação Tony Elumelu, anunciou a difícil decisão de adiar a 6ª edição de seu Programa de Empreendedorismo e o Fórum do TEF até 2021. Dada a importância primordial de  saúde e segurança pública, infelizmente esse é o único curso de ação apropriado.

Enquanto isso, a Fundação Tony Elumelu fornecerá treinamento gratuito sobre o TEFConnect enquanto trabalha com formuladores de políticas, governos e instituições financeiras de desenvolvimento para catalisar apoio adicional aos empresários africanos após o coronavírus.  O TEFConnect também hospedará informações críticas em torno da pandemia para proteger a saúde e a segurança de todos os africanos, além de curar histórias de impacto de empreendedores africanos que criam soluções inovadoras para combater o surto de coronavírus.

Saúde e segurança são nossa prioridade, e a Fundação Tony Elumelu pede que todos fiquem seguros e observem as precauções de saúde descritas pela Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), governos nacionais e outras organizações relevantes de saúde.

Para obter mais informações, incluindo as próximas etapas para os empreendedores que se inscreveram no programa 2020, visite as Perguntas frequentes clicando AQUI.

Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu
CEO
Fundação Tony Elumelu
Lagos, Nigeria.

Click here for French , Arabic, Portuguese

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In response to the current crisis resulting from the coronavirus pandemic, the entrepreneurship-focused African philanthropy, the Tony Elumelu Foundation, has announced the difficult decision to postpone the 6th edition of its Entrepreneurship Programme and the TEF Forum until 2021. Given the paramount importance of public health and safety, this sadly is the only appropriate course of action.

In the meantime, the Tony Elumelu Foundation will provide free training on TEFConnect while working with policymakers, governments, and development finance institutions to catalyse additional support for African entrepreneurs post coronavirus. TEFConnect will also host critical information around the pandemic to safeguard the health and safety of all Africans, as well as curate impact stories from African entrepreneurs creating innovative solutions to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.

Health and safety are our priority, and the Tony Elumelu Foundation urges everyone to stay safe and observe the health precautions outlined by the World Health Organisation (WHO), national governments and other relevant health organisations. 

For further information, including the next steps for entrepreneurs who applied for the 2020 programme, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by clicking HERE. 

Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu
CEO
The Tony Elumelu Foundation
Lagos, Nigeria.

Click here for French , Arabic, Portuguese

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This is because the 27-year-old runs a chocolate processing business known as Desserts Anyone Limited.

The business that is based in Baba Dogo, Ruaraka, in Nairobi, processes low or no sugar, cocoa-rich, whole-fruit infused or dairy free chocolates. “We are in the business of giving consumers the license to indulge in a guilt-free, healthy experience of their beloved chocolate,” says Martin Ruga.

Ruga started the business as a gift to his friends and family members. “I started the business in 2015 after making a simple dessert that contained chocolate-coated strawberries for my friends and family,” he says.

Many of those who tasted his dessert gave it thumbs up because of the strawberries that he had added. “I realized that the strawberries had created the illusion of a healthy dessert, and that many of those who tasted it would have shied away if it was plain chocolate due to health concerns such as weight gain, dental cavities and the aftertaste,” he says. “This got me thinking; does a solution exist that can deliver a wholesome, untainted experience to chocolate lovers?”

Armed with a capital of Sh. 10,000, Ruga decided to pilot a chocolate processing business. “I started by testing out my business hypothesis among my family and friends. The feedback was positive and it encouraged me that this was a business that could command a good market,” he says.

He developed a business plan and a simplified test data that could show how and why his business idea could work. But his capital of Sh. 10,000 was too small to set off the business. “I knew that I would need more capital and decided to start applying for funding from angel investors,” Martin Ruga says.

He applied for the inaugural Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015. Fortunately, his business pitch sailed through and he was awarded with a seed capital of Sh. 1 million (USD 10,000). “In the same year, my business was picked up by the Centum Investments Foundation for mentoring and resource provision, which helped us to lay a solid foundation on which the business stands on today,” he says.

Despite receiving funding and mentorship, Ruga still faced numerous start-up challenges. He says that his biggest challenge was focusing on a small set of product ideas in order to get the business moving.

“As entrepreneurs, we sometimes tend to generate ideas faster than we can execute them. This is a booby trap that I got caught up in. But as time passed, I learned to slow down and execute my business plan more stealthily,” he says.

Today, Ruga is reaping the fruits of his toil. His business has served over two tonnes of chocolate to over 50,000 primary and secondary consumers. “We mainly supply other businesses through the Business to Business supplier model. We tie their business objectives to the emotion that we often attach to chocolate with our custom-branded chocolate squares.”

Ruga also reveals that his business is beyond its break-even point. “Our projections show that we shall be having increased profitability in the coming business periods,” he says.

Over the past three years, Ruga’s business has grown from a team of one to about seven employees. During this period, Ruga has scooped equity investments from the KCB Lion’s Den entrepreneurs programme, completed fellowships with startup mentoring projects, and won the Young Entrepreneurs Awards’ top youth entrepreneur in the hospitality industry.

Martin Ruga says that one of the key business lessons he has learned in his journey is the management of his cash flow. “No idea should be launched without piloting. This will save you from sinking too much capital in a venture that might turn out as a dead end,” he says.

Though he has not suffered from any major financial losses, Martin Ruga says that he has had a loss of time with either delayed or hastened business decisions. “I have learned that as an entrepreneur, there are times when you need to be haste with decisions. This is not easy, especially when the decisions need retrospection and accurate business growth forecast,” he says.

Currently, Ruga’s main challenge is managing demand from the retail side vis a vis his processing capacity. “The business is now aiming to further our distribution channels by opening chocolate kiosks in high traffic retail locations, and an online distribution channel,” he says. He has laid out an eight-year plan that he expects to transform his business into a processing and exporting chocolate company. “I have dared to dream. Dream, as well, but always beware that you can start with what you have from where you are. In the end, everything will fall into place. Trust your gut, be patient, be persistent, have fun, and build your grit.”

Source: Biz Kenya

The post How Martin Ruga Turned His Kitchen into a Multi-million Dollar Chocolate Business appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

As we celebrate this year’s edition of International Women’s Day (IWD), the world needs more voices to contribute to the achievement of gender equality in order to tackle economic exclusion, discriminatory financial systems, limited participation in political and public life, lack of access to education, poor retention of girls in schools and discriminatory cultural practices and norms which limit women. This is the reason why this year’s IWD theme is “Each for Equal”; each person has a responsibility to make sure a future of equal opportunities is within reach.

Join the celebration of International Women’s Day (IWD) with these steps:

Participate in Events and Network with Other Female Professionals

For entrepreneurs, especially female entrepreneurs, International Women’s Day is an opportunity to find and network with female businesswomen and professionals who share similar experiences.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur or you’re just looking to expand your circle, it is a good idea to connect with female business owners this period. Several organisations hold events that focus on bringing women together during the celebration, and researching the top industry players in your field, or even beyond your area of interest, can help you forge networks that could be beneficial later.

If you cannot be physically present at these events, you can also network by participating in the groups, forums and online and on social media.

Lend your Time: Mentor other Professionals

If you are more established in your business/career, consider becoming a mentor to female entrepreneurs. Growing a business requires a wealth of knowledge and navigating local business environments can be a hassle for women who may know nothing or very little about what the business environment is really like.  

Women find it harder to establish strong mentorship relationships and this sometimes hinders business growth.

Sharing your knowledge and encouraging entrepreneurs you mentor with a lot of understanding, empathy and a positive tone is essential to building female entrepreneurs who do not back down in the face of challenges.

Female entrepreneurship in Africa will improve as more young women see relatable figures in top positions as more successful female entrepreneurs and organisations continue to progress and contribute to the eco system.

You can begin your mentorship journey by volunteering to be a mentor on the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, or by signing up as a mentor on tefconnect.com and sharing your knowledge with entrepreneurs who may need it.

Partner with a Female-Owned Entrepreneurs and Businesses

Don’t shy away from partnering with a female entrepreneur without good reasons. Find ways to partner with other businesses that are owned by women. Do include women in speaking opportunities on panels and as thought leaders in industries.

When working with women, paying women equally, respecting their opinions, and respecting their authority as a leader goes a long way to ensure that the bias against individuals based on their gender is kicked out.

Give Female Entrepreneurs Opportunities to Thrive

There are internal self-limiting factors which hinder women from seeing progress in business. While men are usually conditioned to be competitive, to be leaders, to be assertive, girls and women are socialised to play a more passive role in society and usually end up not being able to articulately to ask for what they want.

Taking a step further this International Women’s Day, and after, to offer an opportunity to a female entrepreneur when they need it will ensure that more women excel in the workplaces and businesses.

If you know someone who can help a female entrepreneur, make the introduction. New contacts are extremely valuable to business owners. You may have someone in your network who can offer a female business owner the kind of resources they need for their.

Female entrepreneurs should also celebrate their little victories as a big deal instead of focusing solely on the big win. Celebrating little wins can prevent you from becoming demotivated and giving up on your goal.

Donate to Organisations Dedicated to Women’s Development

By supporting organisations that empower women, success can be achieved even faster. Volunteer by donating money, resources and time to organisations that empower women to excel.

By supporting women and women-owned businesses, you not only help the entrepreneur, you help to ensure that women all across the continent have access to better lives.

By following these steps this International Women’s Day, you can contribute to breaking down the barriers women face and also by listening and reflecting on issues that arise from conversations that impact women and the society at large. With collective effort, countries become more prosperous when women and women-led businesses are enabled to function at their fullest potential.

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Follow the link to view the list

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In Summary

An Entrepreneur needs to have a vision.

An Entrepreneur needs to have a burning conviction about his business

An entrepreneur needs to be ready to put his sweat and resources to use to achieve his aim once empowered with the right training

He needs to have strong marketing plan and know his income sources

THE TEF Model

TEF Entrepreneurship program is a 10 year commitment to select train and empower 10,000 entrepreneurs to create 1million jobs in 10 years. Now in its 6th year we have almost reached our commitment through partnerships because our model has been proven to be successful and sustainable. We are Pan African and our key thematic area is entrepreneurship,

What makes it successful is that we achieve in 1 year, what takes some programs like the apprenticeship program 5 to 8 years to achieve. 

1. We chose people with ideas
2. Commitment to bring it to life
3. We Train and equip them with knowledge, business mentorship and network
4.  training is an intensive training and mentorship with emphasis on marketing, financial management, scaling structure, transparency and corporate governance to enable them access 2nd stage funding,
5. We give Seed capital to encourage them to expand their ideas or businesses
6. Exposure to additional trainings and value add to scale
7. Networking opportunities and learning opportunities
8. We give them access to markets through our proprietary Technology platform TEFConnect

TEF builds confidence and capability, Democratizes luck with seed capital to start up, Provides ongoing mentorship, access to a network  and value add exposure to scale their businesses.

Our program has been proven and successful so we were able to attract partners and we almost hit our 10 year commitment in 5 years. Last year alone, we had over 3000 entrepreneurs our flagship program and additional 2100 through our partnership with UNDP Sahel

The post An overview of TEF’s Success strategy According to Our DOO, Ifeoma Okafor-Obi appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

On the heels of the tenth anniversary of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the private-sector-led philanthropy focused on empowering African entrepreneurs has enhanced its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme to empower more entrepreneurs across the continent.  

These enhancements, which took effect from January 1, 2020—the launch of the 6th cycle of the Programme—will achieve the Foundation’s mandate to transform the African continent through entrepreneurship.

Most prominent among the enhancements are the new dates in the Programme cycle, its emphasis on providing thousands of entrepreneurs with business training, and its focus on leveraging technology to optimise the application and selection process as well as personalise the journey of each applicant in the Programme tailored to their knowledge and business stage.
 
The Programme cycle has been updated to place more emphasis on getting more entrepreneurs through the business training. Hence, the announcement of the finalists, who will ultimately be inducted into the TEF Alumni network, will no longer be held on March 22 but will be made at the TEF Forum – the largest entrepreneurship conference in Africa.

Maximising the value derived from the Programme, applicants will now receive instant feedback on their progress to the next stage of the Programme, following their applications. Shortlisted applicants will receive business training tailored to their business stage and for those who move to the next stage mentorship and finally the top performing entrepreneurs from each country will proceed to the business pitching competition, which will determine the finalists to receive seed capital and an induction into the Foundation’s fast-growing alumni network across 54 African countries.

The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is the $100million commitment by investor and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu, CON through his investment company, Heirs Holdings. The Programme has become a beacon of hope for African entrepreneurs, currently empowering 9,631 beneficiaries across 54 African countries with training, mentorship, seed funding and exclusive access to global opportunities as well as a strong entrepreneurial community. 

TEF Alumni such as Ugandan Kwabena Danso who manufactures bicycles and its accessories from bamboo is one of the thousands of beneficiaries whose business has expanded beyond the shores of Africa to a global market, and is one of the success stories and impact recorded by the Programme’s innovative approach to the sustainable development of Africa. Others include Mohammed Dhauoafi from Tunisia, founder of Cure, a  3D printed, biosynthetic prosthesis manufacturing company and Princess Adeyinka Tekenah from Nigeria whose coffee making business has been dubbed Africa’s Starbucks by The Financial Times.

The application for the 2020 cohort of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is open till March 31, 2020 on TEFConnect.com.

The post 10 Years of Impact: Tony Elumelu Foundation Enhances its Flagship Entrepreneurship Programme to Benefit More Entrepreneurs Across Africa appeared first on The Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Ces changements qui ont pris effet à partir du 1er janvier 2020, fourniront plus de valeur à travers le continent et atteindre notre mandat de transformer le continent africain à travers l’entrepreneuriat.

Ceci est l’une des nouvelles annonçant le 10ème anniversaire de la Fondation Tony Elumelu.

Prière de voir les réponses à nos questions fréquemment posées (FAQ) suivantes.

La procedure de soumission a-t-elle changé ?

Oui. Le formulaire de soumission a été renforcé pour inclure le Business Plan et les questions sur le type de personnalité. Vous serez aussi immédiatement informé des résultats de votre soumission.

Quand seront annoncés les bénéficiaires finaux ?

Sur l’application; vous recevrez immediatement une noticfication sur les résultats de votre soumission. Seuls les candidats préselectionnés passeront à la prochaine étape qui est de recevoir la formation en affaires et le mentorat.

Les bénéficiaires finaux, qui auront émergé au top de la competition du pitch, seront announcés au forum du TEF (la plus grande conférence sur l’entrepreneuriat en Afrique) cette année. Cette liste finale recevra les $5000 de capital d’amorçage.

De quels avantages les bénéficiaires selectionnés jouiront ?

Tous les entrepreneurs préselectionnés recevront une formation, un mentorat et un accès à un vaste réseau disponible sur TEFConnect.

Cependant, seuls les bénéficiaires announcés comme anciens du TEF recevront le financement.

La formation sera-t-elle toujours en 12 semaines ?

Oui, la formation se fera toujours dans l’espace 12 semaines. Toutefois, ça sera taillé aux connaissances en affaires de chaque candidat et son état de besoin.

Aura-t-il décaissements des capitaux d’amorçage ?

Oui. Toutefois, la formation et la competition du pitch seront fait avant la selection finale des candidats qui seront eligible à recevoir les $5000 de financement en capital d’amorçage.

Est ce que tous ceux qui seront selectionnés dans le programme recevront le capital d’amorçage ?

Non, seuls les entrepreneurs qui auront suivi tout le programme de formation avec les niveaux de scores requis et ayant passé avec succès la competition du pitch recevront le financement.

Est ce que ce sont tous les entrepreneurs qui passeront le pitch ?

Oui, pour être eligible à recevoir les $5000 de capital d’amorçage, les candidats qui auront suivi complétement avec succès leur formation avec un niveau de scores requis seront invités à pitcher pour une chance de recevoir le financement.

Comme seront selectionnés les bénéficiaires finaux ?

Les bénéficiaires finaux seront selectionnés sur la base des résultats de la competition de pitch.

Quand sera anoncé la liste finale des bénéficiaires ?

La liste finale des entrepreneurs qui recevront le financement sera annoncée au Forum Annuel de l’Entrepreneuriat du TEF.

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