Tony Elumelu to announce selected 1000 African entrepreneurs for 2019 programme

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) will on Friday announce selected applicants for the 2019 cohort of its flagship entrepreneurship programme, the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP), in Abuja.

The successful applicants would be drawn from a pool of more than 215,000 African entrepreneurs, who applied for the 2019 edition of the programme, representing about 42 percent increase from 151,000 applications received a year earlier.

TEEP, launched in 2015, is a 10-year philanthropic initiative that aims to empower 1,000 African entrepreneurs annually with $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital each, access to mentors, a 12-week training programme and opportunities to promote their businesses to a global audience.

Since inception, the programme has empowered 4,000 African entrepreneurs directly and an additional 470 entrepreneurs supported by its partners, according to the TEF in a release Tuesday.

The 2019 edition would mark the fifth round of the foundation’s entrepreneurship programme where more than 1,000 African entrepreneurs from 54 countries across the continent are expected to be gathered.

The foundation said the TEFConnect, a digital networking platform for African entrepreneurs, which it launched last year now has over 400,000 users, providing opportunities for entrepreneurs to network, receive training and forge business partnerships to scale their businesses beyond physical borders.

“All applicants receive access to TEFConnect, Africa’s digital entrepreneurial hub, which provides access to networks, training, further capital sources and business opportunities,” TEF said.

Applications for this year’s edition of the programme witnessed an increase in female representation to 90,000 in 2019 compared to 62,000 in 2018, according to Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, the foundation’s newly appointed chief executive, who is expected to assume office on April 1.

“These rising figures demonstrate the burning desire of the African entrepreneur to develop our continent,” Ugochukwu said. “We must urgently convert this passion into viable businesses to develop our continent.”