THE Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has selected 4,949 entrepreneurs from across Africa for its 2021 Entrepreneurship Programme.
Each entrepreneur received $5,000 with a total $24.75m paid out. The 2021 beneficiaries, selected from a pool of over 400,000 applicants, were unveiled on Friday based on their innovation, performance and growth potential to create jobs and eradicate poverty on the continent.
The beneficiaries consist of both new start-ups and existing small businesses. The founder of the foundation, Mr Tony Elumelu, said at the event: “To you, young African entrepreneurs, work hard, dream dreams and be very disciplined. You must continue to think of impact. The entrepreneurship journey is not linear – there are ups and downs – but by staying focused and resilient, ultimately, success will come your way.
“The future of our continent is in your hands. What you do as an entrepreneur will go a long way in lifting Africa out of poverty. I am happy that our female entrepreneurs are doing very well, with 68 per cent representation this year.
“To our African leaders, these young, intelligent, energetic hardworking, resilient Africans are ready to go. We need to keep creating the right enabling environment to enable our young ones to succeed. We must realise that their success is success for all of us on the continent. We must prioritise them because nations and continents that prioritise their people succeed.
“To my fellow business leaders, let us realise that in the 21st century and beyond, it is about impact, legacy and about how we work together to power people out of poverty. It is such a great feeling to see 5,000 young Africans also commence their own entrepreneurial journeys today.”
The foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, said the foundation had trained “ten times more young African entrepreneurs than we have trained from 2015 to 2019 combined. Today in 2021, we will be paying out a record US$24,750,000 directly to the hands of African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries. This is impact.”
Also speaking at the event, Director-General, International Cooperation and Development, European Commission, Mr Koen Doens, said he was glad that over 2,400 women will benefit from the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s training programme and will get seed capital to support their ideas.
“I am extremely happy that at the European Union, we are able to be part of this great endeavour and to support it,” he said.
Also, Assistant Administrator, UNDP/Director, UNDP Regional Bureau for Africa, Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, said the partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation on youth entrepreneurship was informed by the belief that Africa will only succeed when young Africans are given the opportunity to excel.
“This is what has inspired us to invest more than $20 million in emerging African entrepreneurs since we entered into our partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Our joint ambition is to empower 100,000 young African entrepreneurs over the next ten years across Africa, recognising that entrepreneurship is the only way dreams can be realised,” he said.
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