The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), an African founded and funded 21st century
philanthropic organization committed to entrepreneurship
development, ushers in an additional 1,000 African entrepreneurs. Applications were received from over 93,000 entrepreneurs across
55 African countries - over 100% increase from 2016, and nearly quadruple
of the 2015 application numbers.
Proving
that African youth are indeed interested in feeding the continent, Agriculture
led the pack with nearly 1 in 3 successful applicants. The next most popular
sector was ICT (11%) and then manufacturing (9%), evidence of a paradigm shift
away from extractives to a more sustainable mindset that embraces
industrialization and diversification.
Africa's largest economy, Nigeria, is
home to 50% of the 2017 cohort, with regional powerhouses Kenya, Ghana, Uganda
and Cameroon following respectively.
The
successful entrepreneurs will benefit from the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme's
7 Pillars - a toolkit of support including business training, mentoring, access
to networks and funding of up to $10,000 - as they develop their business
concepts to contribute to the transformation of the continent. As Founder, Tony
Elumelu CON, is often quoted as stating, "No one but us Africans will develop
Africa."
The
Foundation’s long-term investment in empowering African entrepreneurs is
emblematic of Mr. Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions
Africa’s private sector – and most importantly entrepreneurs – as catalysts for
the economic renaissance of the continent.
Despite
the Foundation's considerable commitment (its $100m commitment is the largest
African entrepreneurship-focused endowment), Founder Tony Elumelu wants to do
more. “Standing here today to announce the successful applicants is
bittersweet.
There
are 92,000 aspiring entrepreneurs who have been unsuccessful. These young
African men and women have demonstrated passion and creativity in their
applications and we should not relent until we help them realize their
aspirations. I call on other successful Africans, and friends of Africa, to
support us to do more."
Speaking
on the Foundation's impact in 3 short years, CEO, Parminder Vir OBE, revealed:
“We recently sampled 600 of our existing 2,000 entrepreneurs to understand the
extent of our Programme’s impact. We discovered they have turned our investment
into real returns with 1,297 jobs created so far."
For
a full list of the selected 2017 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs, visit www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/programme
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