The $100 Million Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship
Programme – an annual programme of training, funding and
mentoring, designed to empower the next generation of African
entrepreneurs – is now open for entries through its
application portal
The flagship entrepreneurship programme from the
Tony Elumelu Foundation opens its application portal for entries at
12:01am WAT on January 1st2015 and will continue to accept
applications until midnight WAT on March 1st2015. In order to submit
an application, entrepreneurs must complete the online application form
with questions on their background, experience and business idea, plans
for growth and proposed pan-African impact.
Since the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship
Programme was announced, we have been enthused by the level of
interest and excitement from entrepreneurs across Africa. We are
looking forward to reviewing the entries and identifying the first cohort of
the continent’s next generation of business leaders,” said
ParminderVir OBE, Director of Entrepreneurship, The Tony Elumelu
Foundation.
The $100 millionprogramme, announced at the Tony
Elumelu Foundation headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, on December 1st
2014, will identify and support 1,000 entrepreneurs from across the continent
each year over the next decade. The 10,000 start-ups and young businesses
selected from across Africa will ultimately create one million new jobs and add
$10 billion in annual revenues to Africa’s economy.
The Tony
Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programmeis open to citizens and legal residents of all
54 African countries. Applications can be made by any for-profit
business based in Africa in existence for less than three
years, including new business ideas. The application portal is
available in English, French and Portuguese and applications will be
accepted in these three languages.
At the launch, Tony O. Elumelu CON,
the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, spoke of his personal commitment to
empowering African entrepreneurship, saying, “This programme is far more
than a funding initiative or networking opportunity. It is an act of faith in
our entrepreneurs and our young people to transform our continent; to be the
engine for the creation of both economic and social wealth, putting into
practice what I have called Africapitalism.”
Applications for the programme close on March
1st 2015 when they will be reviewed by the Selection Committee, whose members
include:
- Ory Okolloh, Director of Investments, Omidyar Network’s Government
Transparency Initiative in Africa
- Ory Okolloh, Director of Investments, Omidyar Network’s Government
Transparency Initiative in Africa
- Amadou Hott, CEO, Senegal's Sovereign
Wealth Fund
- Ayodeji Adewunmi, CEO and Co-Founder, Jobberman
- Dr Vera Songwe, Country Director, World Bank Group for Senegal, Cape Verde,
Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania
- Opunimi Akinkugbe, CEO, Bestman Games Ltd
- Dr Ndubuisi Ekekwe, Founder, First Atlantic Semi-Conductors & Microelectronics
- Sam Nwanze, Chief Investment Officer, Heirs Holdings
- Monica Musonda, CEO, Java Food in Zambia
- Angelle Kwemo, Managing Director& CEO,Rimsom Strategies
-Mariéme Jamme, CEO, Spotone Global Solutions
- Dr Wiebe Boer, CEO, The Tony Elumelu Foundation
- Dr Vera Songwe, Country Director, World Bank Group for Senegal, Cape Verde,
Gambia, Guinea-Bissau and Mauritania
- Opunimi Akinkugbe, CEO, Bestman Games Ltd
- Dr Ndubuisi Ekekwe, Founder, First Atlantic Semi-Conductors & Microelectronics
- Sam Nwanze, Chief Investment Officer, Heirs Holdings
- Monica Musonda, CEO, Java Food in Zambia
- Angelle Kwemo, Managing Director& CEO,Rimsom Strategies
-Mariéme Jamme, CEO, Spotone Global Solutions
- Dr Wiebe Boer, CEO, The Tony Elumelu Foundation
The first cohort
of successful applicants from across
Africa will be announced on March 22nd,
2015. The 1,000 selected applicants will continue through the programme
cycle for the course of the year. This includes an intensive online training
curriculum and participation in an entrepreneurship boot camp.
To stay informed about The Tony
Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, including the 2015 selection
of African Entrepreneurs, follow @TonyElumeluFDN on Twitter and join the
conversation #TEEP #AfricanEntrepreneurs
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