The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has selected over a thousand candidates from across 54 African countries who will receive a non-refundable seed capital of $5,000 each to scale up their businesses.
Gatekeepers News reports that founder and CEO of the foundation, Tony Elumelu announced the 10th cohort of the 2024 Tony Elumelu entrepreneurship programme beneficiaries on Friday in Lagos as he marks his 61st birthday.
“These 1,104 young men and women from 54 African countries will each receive a non-refundable $5,000 seed capital.
“We believe in democratising luck and spreading prosperity in Africa, by identifying and encouraging our young ones through helping them to start their own business,” he said.
Elumelu explained that the foundation was established to alleviate poverty across Africa and has, over the last ten years, provided over $100 million to more than 20,000 young Africans.
“Till date, over 20,000 young men and women from across Africa have received over $100 million in support of their program. We are happy to see our young ones progressing. We are happy that what we started alone as Tony Elumelu foundation will have been able to identify and partner with other global institutions.
“So, today is a day of impact, a day of gratitude, and most importantly, a day of reflection for me because God has been kind in so many ways. My family and I do what we do, not from the abundance of wealth, but just a realisation that poverty anywhere is a threat to us everywhere, and that we cannot live alone in prosperity. So, I’m happy that today, we continue to spread that prosperity- not just in Nigeria, not just in our family, but in all 54 African countries. I am indeed happy that in our lifetime, we are able to impact the next generation.”
Co-founder Awele Elumelu expressed her excitement about the foundation’s success, adding that the vision of the foundation is to democratize luck and eradicate poverty.
She urged the beneficiaries to make the most of this opportunity to shape the future of Africa.
