In 2021, The Tony Elumelu Foundation partnered with the European Union to identify, train, mentor and fund 2,500 young African women entrepreneurs.  The partnership disbursed €20 million in financial and technical support for women-owned businesses, across all 54 African countries, in addition to providing increased access to market linkages, supply chains and venture capital investments.  

The partnership not only significantly strengthened and deepened the EU-Africa relations, but it also built on the transformative approach of the US$100m Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, and formed part of the EU External Investment Plan to support women economic empowerment within the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP III). 

During the event, Tony O. Elumelu C.F.R., Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, and the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, expressed their delight in reflecting on the resounding success achieved through the TEF-EU partnership, and the accomplishments of the young African women entrepreneurs who have thrived under their mentorship and support. 

Mr. Elumelu and Commissioner Urpilainen expressed their enthusiasm about the future of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s collaboration with the European Union. Both leaders underscored their commitment to fostering entrepreneurship, innovation, and economic development in Africa, paving the way for a prosperous future for the continent. 

Speaking at the event, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu said, “I speak for every young African entrepreneur when I say thank you [to the European Union] and welcome to Africa. Together, the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the European Union have economically empowerment thousands of women entrepreneurs across the continent, supporting each of them with a non-refundable seed capital of $5,000, because they share our belief that prosperity anywhere is good for all of us, and poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere.  This partnership has exemplified the transformative impact that can be achieved when like-minded organizations join forces to empower the next generation of African entrepreneurs. Together with the European Union, we have unlocked immense potential, enabling young women entrepreneurs to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s economic growth”. 

Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen remarked, “It is great to have this opportunity to hear the impressive stories of We’ve heard the impressive results and stories of beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s inclusive support programmes, backed also by the European Union. When I was appointed as the EU Commission of International Partnerships 2019, I had an objective, I really wanted to change the paradigm. The paradigm of our partnership with Africa, I wanted to get rid of the existing donor-recipient relationship, where donors tell and impose their expectations on Africans. We look forward to changing the paradigm and creating mutually beneficial partnerships and equal partnerships. ” 

As the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the European Union continue their collaborative efforts, they remain dedicated to empowering entrepreneurs, driving innovation, and catalyzing positive change across the African continent. The partnership stands as a beacon of hope, inspiring future generations and demonstrating the immense possibilities that arise when organizations unite to uplift communities. 

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 increasing women 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. 

Read the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s recently launched impact report here.  

For media inquiries, please contact:  

Moyo Awotile; Moyo.awotile@tonyelumelufoundation.org; 08099751482 

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The Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Tony O. Elumelu, received Executive Vice-President, European Commission, Margrethe Vestager, at a bilateral meeting between TEF and EU towards deepening the existing collaborative partnership between both parties. The partnership between the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the EU has empowered 2500 young women entrepreneurs across Africa, helping to generate impact in their communities, creating jobs and revenue, and contributing to eradicating poverty.

As the EU prioritises women, youth and digital skills in Africa over the next decade, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) continues to embody these priorities, while forging an even deeper partnership with the EU that impacts hundreds of thousands more youth-owned small businesses across all 54 countries in Africa.

Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, while thanking the European Commission for its landmark partnership with the Foundation to empower young Africans, emphasised the need for an expanded collaboration to reach even more youth: “When I see our young people die trying to cross the Mediterranean, my heart bleeds and I say to myself, what can we do to stop this? And the demonstration of what we can do to stop this, both you, EU and the OACPS did through the support for young African entrepreneurs on the 2021 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme. Through your help and support, we were able to scale up support for women entrepreneurs in Africa. I look forward to an even deeper partnership.”

In response, the Executive Vice-President, European Union (EU), Margrethe Vestager expressed her support for the work of the Foundation in empowering young African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries. “It is promising that there are organisations not just giving hope,” she said, “but giving hands-on, specific skills enabling these young entrepreneurs to do business and of course also helping to develop financing instruments for later in their business life. This is your own model at the Foundation. There is a grant but also business education, mentoring, advocacy for ease of doing business, for the tax man to be predictable. I am very much aligned.”

Mr. Elumelu continued the meeting, providing additional guidance to the EU in furtherance of its mission to support African youth and women in particular: “As they say, the journey of one mile, starts with a step. There are certain building blocks that must be in place for African entrepreneurs to succeed. One is access to electricity, and two is creating enabling policies that will allow and support these young entrepreneurs. In addition to the support you give, policy advocacy will go a long way.”

Last week on the 12^th of February, the Tony Elumelu Foundation also received representatives of the European Commission led by Samuela Isopi, EU Ambassador to Nigeria and West Africa, at an interactive roundtable session themed “Focus on the digital and incubation ecosystem – challenges, success stories and opportunities.” The Foundation and the EU convened representatives from leading tech organisations, investors, and Tony Elumelu Foundation alumni, to discuss and understand the digital landscape for businesses in Africa while also ideating on processes to improve the current status quo.

On February 17 2022, the Foundation will again partner with the European Commission to host a high-level panel event ‘Women Economic Empowerment in Africa through Public-Private Partnerships’ which will take place as part of the 7th EU-Africa Business Forum (EABF). The event will be opened by Helena Dalli (EU Commissioner for Equality) and Georges Rebello Chikoti (Secretary General, OACPS), moderated by Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu (CEO of TEF) with panelists including Dr. Sabine Müller (Director General Africa Department, GIZ), Nitin Gajria (Managing Director Sub-Saharan Africa, Google) and Antón Léis Garcia (Director Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation AECID) with closing remarks by Sandra Kramer (Director Africa Department, EU Directorate-General for International Partnerships).

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The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Africa’s leading philanthropy committed to empowering young African entrepreneurs, has announced a partnership with the European Union to identify, train, mentor and fund 2,500 young African women entrepreneurs in 2021.  The partnership will disburse €20 million in financial and technical support for women-owned businesses, across all 54 African countries, in addition to providing increased access to market linkages, supply chains and venture capital investments.

The joint initiative will significantly strengthen and deepen the EU-Africa partnership, builds on the platform and experience of the US$100m TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, and forms part of the EU External Investment Plan to support women economic empowerment within the EU Gender Action Plan (GAP III).

Commenting on the landmark partnership, Tony Elumelu, Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation said “We are delighted to partner with the European Union, sharing our unique ability to identify, train, mentor and fund young entrepreneurs across Africa.  This joint effort will prioritise and provide economic opportunities for African women, whom for too long have endured systemic obstacles to starting, growing and sustaining their businesses.  Our partnership will alleviate the funding, knowledge and market constraints threatening the livelihoods of women entrepreneurs on the continent, to create more income, jobs, growth and scale for women-owned businesses.”

The EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Jutta Urpilainen, said “This partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation will help women participants in economic development, realise their full potential and accelerate economic inclusion.  Empowering women entrepreneurs is a key driver for sustainable jobs and growth, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and in line with the objectives of our African Strategy.  Women and girls represent half of the world’s population and they deserve equal opportunities.”

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, which marks ten years of impact this year, is empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, catalysing economic growth, driving poverty eradication and ensuring job creation across all 54 African countries.  The Foundation has trained, mentored and funded nearly 10,000 young African entrepreneurs from 54 African countries, and continues to provide capacity-building support, advisory and market linkages to over 1 million Africans through its digital networking platform, TEFConnect.

TEF’s female success stories include Joyce Awojoodu, from Nigeria, who launched a luxury botanically based product line and spa clinic in Lagos, in 2015.  The brand ORÍKÌ, caters to both men and women, and strictly uses raw materials and natural ingredients from Africa.  Awojoodu’s favourite element of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme was the mentorship, which she described as “phenomenal”’ and “invaluable” for ORÍKÌ.  In her own words, “each Tef Entrepreneur was assigned a mentor and I could not have asked for a better one.  TEF connected us.  Now the mentorship continues, and I know I will always have an ear to share my thoughts about the business with a person who can also offer advice”.

Mavis Mduchwa, an agribusiness entrepreneur from Botswana, founded Chabana Farms, a poultry farm providing training and work for unemployed young people.  Even though agriculture accounts for 32% of Africa’s gross domestic product, land ownership and access to land remains a significant challenge for many farmers, especially women.  According to Mduchwa, “in Botswana, about 80% of people survive on agriculture, and many of them are women.  But, if as a women you want to turn it into a business, you have a challenge of finding land.”  Mduchwa has used the seed capital and training from TEF to significantly expand her operations.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation and the European Commission are proud to partner to unlock the dynamic potential of African women entrepreneurs, directly catalysing African’s economic growth and contributing to Africa’s prosperity and social development.  The programme co-funded by the European Union, the Organisation of African, Caribbean, and Pacific State (OACPS), and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), will further scale the Foundation’s efforts in directly addressing some of the most endemic challenges to African start-ups – skills and capacity gaps, financial constraints and lack of access to mentoring, networks and market linkages.

Following completion of the programme, the entrepreneurs will stay connected to partners and to each other through their lifetime membership on TEFConnect.  TEF has set up Country Chapters in 54 African countries to support the entrepreneurs as they grow and expand their businesses.

For More Information

The Tony Elumelu Foundation

EU Gender Action Plan (GAP III)

EU Gender Equality Strategy 2020-2025

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