…1000 applicants to benefit from the initiative
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has announced that it will begin to accept applications for the third round of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
Speaking in Lagos at the unveiling of the portal for the 2017 edition of the programme, the foundation’s chief executive officer, Ms. Parminder Vir said applications will be accepted as from January 1, 2017 adding that the programme is designed to identify entrepreneurs that have the potential to grow their businesses and collectively generate 1,000,000 new jobs that can contribute at least $10 billion in additional revenues to the African economy.
Vir explained that the Programme is the Foundation’s 10-year, $100 million commitment to training, mentoring and funding 10,000 African entrepreneurs.
She further said 1,000 entrepreneurs will be selected based on the feasibility of the business idea, market opportunity, financial understanding, scalability, leadership and entrepreneurial skills demonstrated in the application.
To be eligible to apply, Vir said the businesses which must be based in Africa must also be for profit.
In addition, she said applicants must be 18 years of age and above and must be legal resident or citizen of African countries
Vir announced that the application portal will be open until midnight of March 1, 2017 but urged entrepreneurs to complete the online application early as “selection is on a rolling basis.”
“This programme continues to surpass our expectations and its success is palpable. Your entrepreneurial journey begins when you make the decision to complete the application. We are seeking real entrepreneurs, people who can take risk and reap rewards, not just for themselves, but their communities and countries,” she added.
Also speaking, TEF founder, Mr. Tony Elumelu said the programme is capable of unlocking Africa’s potential for economic transformation.
“I believe the seeds we are planting through the Programme will transform Africa. Two years on, it is clear that we have found a key to unlocking Africa’s potential for economic transformation. As our entrepreneurs grow their own businesses and realise their ambitions, so too does the vision. We are showing what the African private sector can achieve; how hard work and enterprise can catalyze real, sustainable development,” he said.
It would be recalled that the 2015 edition of the programme recorded tremendous successes including Momar Mass-Taal, Gambian-based agriculture entrepreneur who turned his $5,000 seed capital into $1.2 million in revenue; Bukhary Kibonajoro, Tanzanian education and training entrepreneur who used the mentorship and training to launch his business, create 34 new jobs and provide growth services for more than 100 local businesses in 12 months and Chioma Okonu, Nigerian waste management entrepreneur who created ancillary revenue streams for more than 6,000 households, 40 jobs and generated over $50,000 in profit.
Established in 2010, the TEF is the leading philanthropy in Africa championing entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs across the continent.
The Foundation’s long-term investment in empowering African entrepreneurs is emblematic of Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions Africa’s private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the continent.
The Foundation’s flagship initiative, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train mentor and fund 10,000 entrepreneurs, capable of changing the face of business across Africa.
