The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has disbursed over $115 million in grants to African entrepreneurs since its inception, supporting more than 24,000 beneficiaries and creating over 1.5 million jobs across the continent.
TEF founder, Tony Elumelu, announced this over the weekend in Abuja while unveiling 3,000 newly selected entrepreneurs who will benefit from the foundation’s 2025 entrepreneurship programme.
The selected entrepreneurs, drawn from 54 African countries, will each receive a $5,000 non-refundable grant to launch or scale their businesses. This latest cohort brings the total number of beneficiaries to 24,000 since the program’s launch in 2015.
Elumelu, who also serves as chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp, and United Bank for Africa (UBA), revealed that businesses supported by the programme have collectively generated over $4.2 billion in revenue, lifting more than two million Africans out of poverty.
TEF is a leading philanthropic organization empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, job creation, and inclusive economic empowerment. Through its proprietary digital platform, TEFConnect, it has trained over 2.5 million young Africans, equipping them with essential business skills and entrepreneurial knowledge.
“The foundation’s ability to fund, train, mentor, and connect young African entrepreneurs has created a unique platform for catalyzing growth across the continent,” Elumelu stated.
He highlighted the foundation’s partnerships with global organizations, including the European Union, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU), and the IKEA Foundation, to support gender empowerment, conflict-affected regions, and green businesses.
Other key partners include the International Committee of the Red Cross, the U.S. African Development Foundation (USADF), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the French Development Agency (AFD), the German Development Finance Institution (DEG), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Elumelu noted that these collaborations have led to tailored initiatives, including programs designed to empower women and foster economic growth in fragile states. He emphasized that TEF has surpassed its initial goal of empowering 10,000 entrepreneurs, now supporting over 21,000 by 2024.
“We recognize that millions of aspiring entrepreneurs remain underserved. That’s why I continue to advocate that Africa doesn’t need aid but investments—in infrastructure, and more importantly, in our young people, who are the future,” he said.
“What we do at the foundation is not about an abundance of wealth but a deep realization that failing to support these entrepreneurs would create greater challenges for the continent. It is in our collective interest to identify and uplift them.”
TEF’s impact is significant: 45% of funded businesses are women-owned, creating over 500,000 jobs and generating approximately $320 million in revenue. Beneficiaries with disabilities have contributed over $200 million in revenue and created 150,000 jobs, while 65% of all recipients are from fragile states.
TEF CEO, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, described the foundation’s partnerships as “phenomenal” and reaffirmed its commitment to scaling its impact on young Africans.
“Our entrepreneurs have demonstrated that ideas are the lifeblood of the African continent. For the 2025 cohort, we received over 200,000 applications, from which 3,000 entrepreneurs across 52 African countries will receive $15 million in funding. Each entrepreneur will receive a $5,000 non-refundable seed grant—neither a loan nor equity,” she stated.
Chris-Asoluka explained that the foundation has established a rigorous monitoring and evaluation platform, tracking each funded entrepreneur’s progress six months after receiving seed capital.
The selection process, overseen by Ernst & Young, is transparent and based on five key criteria: feasibility, scalability, market opportunity, financial literacy, and leadership/entrepreneurship skills.
“We don’t expect entrepreneurs to score 100% in all areas, but these factors help us identify the most innovative ideas.
“We also encourage our entrepreneurs to go beyond profit. Their businesses must contribute to at least one of the Sustainable Development Goals. This is how we shortlist candidates for our program,” she explained.
