Tony Elumelu Foundation Announces 4th Cycle of 10-Year, $100M Entrepreneurship Development Programme

LAGOS, Nigeria, November 30, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

Today, Africa's largest philanthropy supporting entrepreneurship - The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) - announced that on January 1, 2018, it will begin accepting applications for the 4^th cycle of its entrepreneurship development programme, from outstanding African entrepreneurs who have start-up or business ideas with high growth potential.

The application portal opens midnight WAT 1^st January 2018 at www.tonyelumelufoundation.org.

The Programme is the Founder's $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 African entrepreneurs in 10 years; creating 1,000,000 jobs and $10 billion in social and economic wealth.

After three cycles, the Programme - the only African-funded business development initiative of its kind - has:

• Received 158,000 applications from African entrepreneurs in 107 countries, including every nation of Africa
• Empowered nearly 3,000 businesses with 12-weeks of online training; world-class mentoring; access to TEF's network of start-ups; and seed capital of $5,000*
• Invested a total of $14,235,000, including $4,270,500 in agriculture; $1,285,000 in ICT, $1,245,000 in education and training; and $7,400,000 more in start-ups across 19 other sectors.

The Programme is open to citizens and legal residents of all African countries with businesses based in Africa, less than three years old, including new startups.

"As an entrepreneur myself, I understand what it feels like to yearn for a lifeline, to hope for a 'big break. In turn, I have set out to institutionalise luck with the Foundation and give back to the continent of Africa. I am pleased the Programme is already unleashing Africa's entrepreneurs and driving economic transformation," said TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON.

* $5,000 seed capital is paid based on the official Central Bank of Nigeria naira equivalent value at the date of selection for the programme. 

About The Tony Elumelu Foundation 

Established in 2010, The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is the leading philanthropy in Africa championing entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs across the continent. The Foundation's long-term investment in empowering African entrepreneurs is emblematic of Tony Elumelu's philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions Africa's private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the continent. The Foundation's flagship initiative, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train mentor and fund 10,000 entrepreneurs, capable of changing the face of business across Africa. www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/teep @tonyelumeluFDN