The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Africa’s leading philanthropic organisation, empowering entrepreneurs will, on Saturday, March 22, 2025, announce the 11th cohort of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
The 2025 announcement comes at a critical time, as Africa’s entrepreneurship ecosystem faces funding constraints and global economic headwinds.
Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs have collectively created about 1.5 million jobs and generated $4.2 billion in revenue, while over two million Africans have been lifted out of poverty.
TEF has continued to provide much-needed support, empowering African entrepreneurs to transform their ideas into sustainable businesses and engines of economic growth.
Each selected Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur will receive $5,000 non-refundable seed capital, a world-class business training on TEFConnect, one-on-one mentorship, and access to global networks and investment opportunities.
The selection process is being conducted by Ernst & Young, to ensure independent assessment.
The impact of the Tony Elumelu Foundation extends beyond funding. It is changing lives and shaping Africa’s future, as witnessed by beneficiaries of the catalytic TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
Ahead of the upcoming announcement, Tony O. Elumelu, Founder of TEF and Group Chairman of Heirs Holdings, reiterates his unwavering belief in the potential of Africa’s entrepreneurs.
“I believe that Africa’s transformation will not be led by aid, but by empowering the next generation of African entrepreneurs—giving them the tools, the funding, the training, and the networks to build sustainable businesses that create jobs and drive economic growth.
“Over the past decade, we have nurtured entrepreneurs from inception to success, scaling our impact across all 54 African countries.
“We have provided capital and also developed a robust monitoring and evaluation framework that allows us to track the progress of our entrepreneurs and measure their contributions to their communities and economies,” Elumelu said.
He also pointed out that no other organisation is implementing entrepreneurship development at this scale across Africa, emphasising that “We have learned, we have refined, and we continue to improve, ensuring that African entrepreneurs—women and men—are at the forefront of solving our continent’s challenges and creating wealth for themselves and their communities.”
While wishing the 2025 cohort success, the leading African philanthropist also noted that entrepreneurship is the key to Africa’s prosperity.