The Tony Elumelu Foundation has announced that 3,200 young entrepreneurs as beneficial of the 2026 Entrepreneurship Programme through the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme.
In an Annual message released on March 22, 2026, in observance of his birthday, Elumelu reflected on the journey which began in 2010, describing it as a “Story of Hope” that has made a significant impact across the African continent.
“For a long time, I believed luck was something that simply happened to you. Then I came to understand that luck can be engineered, opportunity can be democratised, and hope is not just a feeling—it is a system we can build,” he stated.
Elumelu noted that the vision began in 2010, when he and his wife committed to empowering African entrepreneurs through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, with a long-term goal of driving economic transformation through private-sector leadership.
According to him, Africa’s greatest resource has never been oil or gold, noting that it has always been its people and creating the rightful opportunities for them.
Providing an update on the programme’s impact, Elumelu disclosed that the Foundation has disbursed over $100 million in seed capital to more than 24,000 entrepreneurs across Africa. He further revealed that about 80 percent of beneficiaries have successfully scaled their businesses beyond the early stages—far exceeding global survival rates for startups.
The initiative has yielded significant socio-economic outcomes, including impacting over four million households, lifting approximately 2.1 million Africans out of poverty, generating $4.2 billion in revenue, and creating about 1.5 million jobs across the continent.
“This is Africapitalism in action—the belief that Africa’s private sector, especially its entrepreneurs, must drive the continent’s economic and social transformation,” Elumelu emphasized.
At the same time, he said the unveiling of the 12th cohort of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, where 3,200 entrepreneurs drawn from all 54 African countries will receive funding, mentorship, and access to the TEFConnect digital platform.
According to the statement, 51 percent of the entrepreneurs selected this year are women, stressing that the selection was merit-based, underscoring the growing influence and competitiveness of women-led enterprises across Africa.
“As we celebrate Women’s Month, this sends a powerful message: when opportunity is accessible, African women do not simply participate—they lead,” he stated.
Elumelu further expressed appreciation to partners, mentors, Heirs Holdings Group and the entire TEF team, noting that their contributions continue to drive the mission of building a self-sustaining Africa that works for all.
