Ime Akpan
A World Bank report says small businesses play major roles in most economies, particularly in developing countries, representing about 90% of businesses and more than 50% of employment globally. They account for the majority of businesses worldwide and are important contributors to job creation and global economic development.
The Bretton Woods institution projects that 600 million jobs will be needed by 2030 to absorb the growing global workforce, which makes SME development a high priority for many governments around the world.
Narrowing down to Africa and its women, the continent is believed to boasts one of the highest rates of female entrepreneurial activity globally, with estimates suggesting around 24% to 26% of women in sub-Saharan Africa being involved in their personal businesses.
The UN estimates that some 70% of informal cross-border trade in Africa is now conducted by women traders.
While women form the backbone of the African economy and are more likely to be self-employed (58% of the self-employed population), they often face challenges in formalising their businesses and accessing finance, with women-owned SMEs tending to be smaller and less profitable than those owned by men.
African women across business value chains face an estimated financing gap of $42 billion (African Development Bank, 2020). Despite their significant representation among African entrepreneurs, women-led small and growing businesses (SGBs) receive less than 5% of all small business loans (Mastercard, 2022). Traditional financial institutions often perceive them as high-risk, primarily due to their lack of collateral. This financing gap is evident in the venture capital distribution: in Q1 2020, SGBs led by women only raised 3.2% of the total venture capital available, a decrease from 5.7% in Q1 2019 (Briter Bridges, 2020).
To close the gap, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has come to the rescue of women-led SGBs through its Africapitalism philosophy, an economic philosophy which centres on the idea that Africa’s private sector can and should drive the continent’s development through long-term, impactful investments. It also emphasises creating both economic prosperity and social wealth, moving beyond traditional notions of philanthropy and aid. Essentially, it’s a call for businesses to prioritise investments that benefit both their bottom line and the communities they operate in, fostering a more inclusive and sustainable form of capitalism.
TEF founder, Mr Tony Elumelu at the unveiling of the 2025 cohort of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in Abuja, re-echoed this philosophy when he declared: “I believe that Africa’s transformation will not be led by aid, but by empowering the next generation of African entrepreneurs—giving them the tools, the funding, the training, and the networks to build sustainable businesses that create jobs and drive economic growth.
The TEF has so far empowered over 8,000 women entrepreneurs across 54 African countries over the past decade. This represents 46 per cent of the total entrepreneurs supported by the foundation.
Partnering for growth of women-owned SGBs
Arming women entrepreneurs with the appropriate financial knowledge and skills will inevitably boost their effective engagement in the credit market, opportunities for which are growing as increasingly, women-led SMEs contribute to the social fabric and infrastructure of African nations in a virtuous circle.
TEF’s support for women entrepreneurs is aimed at addressing the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically access to finance and business knowledge. In doing so, it enhances the economic inclusion and empowerment of women entrepreneurs, driving job creation through boosted business capacities and improved access to finance, thereby enabling women-led businesses to integrate into local, regional and international value chains.
The TEF, in partnership with the European Union (EU), bets on that truth. Through the Women Entrepreneurship for Africa (WE4A) initiative, women across the continent are receiving seed capital, training, and mentorship. More importantly, they are redefining what African entrepreneurship looks like.
The WE4A is a partnership between TEF, the EU and GIZ and is part of the Investing in Young Businesses in Africa – Women Entrepreneurship for Africa programme (IYBA-WE4A). The programme targets women-led micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups in Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Senegal, Cameroon, and Togo. Target sectors include sustainable agriculture, blue economy, renewable energy, circular economy, waste management and eco-tourism. Selected entrepreneurs receive the TEF business management training, green economy and digital inclusion training, mentorship and a non-refundable seed-funding grant of USD 5,000.
In 2021, TEF partnered with the EU to address some of the most endemic challenges to African women – skills and capacity gaps, and fund 2,500 young African women entrepreneurs, providing €20 million in financial and technical support.
In 2024, the Foundation renewed its partnership with the EU to fund an additional 1,800 women across eight countries with a focus on green entrepreneurship and the creation of green jobs.
TEF’s initiatives have a significant economic impact, with beneficiaries creating jobs and generating substantial revenue, thereby fostering economic growth and poverty eradication across the continent.
On the whole, Elumelu said since the Foundation berthed in 2015, it has nurtured entrepreneurs from inception to success, scaling its impact across all 54 African countries by proving capital and also developing a robust monitoring and evaluation framework that allows it to track the progress of the entrepreneurs and measure their contributions to their communities and economies.
During the period under review, there have been over 24,000 TEF beneficiaries, $100 million+ direct funding, five million jobs created, $4.2 billion revenue generated, two million Africans lifted from poverty, four million households impacted, and 45 per cent women entrepreneurs
“Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has granted over 2.5 million young Africans with access to training on its proprietary digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed over $100 million in direct funding to more than 21,000 African women and men.
“No other organisation is implementing entrepreneurship development at this scale across Africa. We have learned, we have refined, and we continue to improve, ensuring that African entrepreneurs—women and men—are at the forefront of solving our continent’s challenges and creating wealth for themselves and their communities,” Elumelu added.
