TEF invites African women to apply for 4th online training

African women entrepreneurs who are interested in joining the world’s largest network of African start-ups, and being part of a 12-week intensive online training which guides creating and managing a business; and would like to receive $5,000 in seed capital, now have a place at the ongoing Tony Elumelu Foundation’s entrepreneurship programme, which opened for applications exactly a week ago.

“We encourage women, French and Portuguese speakers to apply. Our 3,000 alumni are already growing their businesses and improving lives. If you have a transformational business or an idea, we have an opportunity for you,” Parminder Vir OBE, CEO of the foundation, said.

These entrepreneurs will have access to a “world-class mentor to guide during the early transformation stages of the business,” and “TEF’s own global contacts”, the foundation says in a written statement.

To be eligible for selection, businesses must be based in Africa, must be for profit and must be between 0-3 years old, while the applicants must be at least 18 and a legal resident or citizen of Africa.

The foundation is especially calling women to apply for this opportunity with the hope of achieving gender parity on the continent.

Last year, foundation’s CEO Vir disclosed that female participation at the programme has grown to 36 per cent, up from the initial 24 per cent in two years, hoping that this year, more women will participate in the programme.

Since launching the entrepreneurship programme, four years ago, the foundation has “unleashed our continent’s most potent development force,” TEF founder said last year, while it’s 3,000 entrepreneurs are said to have created “tens of thousands of jobs and generated considerable wealth.”

The Programme, TEF’s 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs by 2024, is now in its fourth cycle.

Reflecting on how far the programme has come, the billionaire TEF Founder, serial entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony Elumelu said in a statement announcing the fourth season of the entrepreneurship programme that: “When we launched the TEF Programme and committed $100 million to empowering Africa’s entrepreneurs, I knew we would create impact, but I never imagined it would be impact of this magnitude. We have unleashed a movement of African entrepreneurs — a force so strong, so inspiring, that I am confident they will collectively transform Africa. We need Africa’s best and brightest entrepreneurs to come learn, grow their businesses and build our continent.”

The application is already open and will close midnight on March 1, 2017 (WAT). To apply, complete the online application at The Tony Elumelu Foundation Website, where successful 1,000 entrepreneurs will be selected based on the viability of their idea, including market opportunity; financial understanding; scalability; and leadership and entrepreneurial skills demonstrated in the application.