The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the private-sector-led philanthropy focused on empowering African entrepreneurs has announced a final list of 2,100 entrepreneurs to benefit from the inaugural TEF-UNDP Entrepreneurship Programme.
The Programme targets small business owners in rural communities across the seven Sahel countries of Africa – Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Mauritania, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cameroon.
A statement disclosed that successful beneficiaries participated in an intensive business training administered online and in select communities in each country during the programme.
The selected young African entrepreneurs would join the alumni network of the TEF’s flagship Entrepreneurship Programme and would each receive seed funding between $1,500 and $5,000, depending on the size of their business initiative.
The TEF-UNDP Entrepreneurship Programme is a partnership between the TEF and the UNDP to empower 100,000 entrepreneurs over 10 years across Africa.
“This mission – to economically empower young African entrepreneurs, create millions of jobs and revenue in Africa, and break the cycle of poverty on the continent – aligns with the purpose of the TEF.
“The selection process of the TEF-UNDP Entrepreneurship Programme, which commenced with a call for applications in July 2019, ended with a pitching competition in various communities in the 7 countries, powered by the United Bank for Africa Plc, while the selection process was coordinated by Deloitte,” the statement explained.
Also, speaking on the announcement, UNDP Africa Regional Head, Ahunna Eziakonwa, said: “Youth employment and economic empowerment are critical for the socio-economic transformation of the Sahel. The sheer size of applicants, 81,000 for the TEF-UNDP Entrepreneurship Programme, demonstrates an urgent need to scale up. The regeneration of the Sahel is a key priority for UNDP.
“We will continue to prioritise initiatives that break down barriers to attaining the full potential of the Sahel – and bring closer to home, the hope for productive lives for Africa’s youth”.
On her part, the CEO of TEF, Ifeyinwa Ugochukwu, said: “Creating opportunities and giving young Africans hope for a brighter future will reduce poverty, extremism and illegal emigration in Africa.
“This is why at the TEF, we forge partnerships to enable us to reach more youths and scale our impact to convert the impending demographic doom to economic boom on the continent.”
The TEF would begin accepting applications for its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme on January 1, 2020.
