In about nine days (March 1, 2017), application portal to Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme will close.
Here are the top 10 countries that have applied for the programme so far: Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Cameroon, Tanzania, South Africa, Botswana and Rwanda.
The third cycle of the entrepreneurship programme is focusing primarily on women entrepreneurs, and they are being encouraged to apply for this round’s $100 million programme.
In fact, Parminder Vir, the chief executive of Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), specifically called on women to apply for the programme earlier in the year. “We encourage women, French, Arabic and Portuguese speakers and business ideas from every region across Africa, to apply If you have a transformational business or an idea, we have an opportunity for you,” she said.
It will be recalled that 36 per cent of applicant’s for last year’s programme were women and 32 per cent of the final 1,000 selected applicants were women.
Tony Elumelu, founder of the founder is hoping that more women from all over Africa will lead this year.
Last year, 15 countries – Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Botswana, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Congo, Gabon, Gambia, Madagascar, Morocco, Senegal, Sierra Leone and South Sudan – had female-to-male ratio in the final 1,000 entries. This begs the question, will Nigerian females take the lead next year?
Elumelu’s $100 million programme is based on his faith in African’s ability to transform the continent he said, adding that: “Our Programme is a deliberate effort to institutionalise luck and provide the essentials for business growth to Africa’s next generation of business leaders.
“It is a demonstration of my faith in this generation’s ability to transform the African narrative, from the single story of disease and poverty, to one of enterprise and opportunity. Spread the word; we need Africa’s best and brightest entrepreneurs. Their ideas will transform Africa.”
As it is traditionally done, 1,000 selected applicants for the programme will be eligible to participate in 12 weeks of intensive training on setting-up and managing businesses, will be signed to mentors to guide successful applicants in creating a robust business plan and will receive $5,000 in non-returnable seed capital and access to a $5,000 convertible loan.
Already, since the programme launched in 2015, nearly 2,000 entrepreneurs have received grants from the $100 million fund and have created hundreds of jobs across the continent.
To be eligible to apply, applicants must have businesses that are based in Africa, must be for profit and the businesses must be at least three years’ old. Also, applicants must be at least 18 and a legal resident or citizen of an African country.
and then