To accelerate the performance of Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Alumni SMEs in Nigeria within the non-oil Export Sector, the foundation recently received N400M in grant funding from the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC), through the Export Expansion Facility Programme (EEFP).
The grant will help strengthen Nigeria’s army of exporters while also promoting much-needed diversification, according to Olusegun Awolowo, Executive Director/ CEO of NEPC.
“NEPC is delighted to embark on this journey with The Tony Elumelu Foundation as we jointly create an army of exporters to drive non-oil exports and promote the diversification of Nigeria’s export portfolio for inclusive and sustainable economic growth,” Awolowo said at the signing ceremony.
“We have keenly admired the work that The Tony Elumelu Foundation has been doing with entrepreneurs across Africa and took a cue from President Muhammad Buhari to support these efforts on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the EEFP under the Nigeria Economic Sustainability Plan (NESP).
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“We hope that this grant of N400 million to the Foundation targeted specifically for Nigerian entrepreneurs will spur other governments in Africa to support the Foundation in its audacious drive to create tens of thousands of entrepreneurs across the continent of Africa”.
The mandate at the Tony Elumelu Foundation is to empower young African entrepreneurs with training, support and first stage funding needed to start their businesses, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu CEO of The Tony Elumelu Foundation said.
“We are very excited to have been identified by the NEPC/ EEFP as a reputable organization to partner with to empower 50 young Nigerian entrepreneurs with easy access to foreign markets and a one-of-a-kind opportunity to show the rest of the world the quality of minds and products that we have in Nigeria,” she said.
Over the years, Ugochukwu said the foundation has provided targeted technical assistance and support, equipping entrepreneurs with resources that capacitate them to transform the continent.
“Similar to our objective with launching TEFConnect, a digital platform that enables market linkages for African entrepreneurs.”
