- Over 265,000 applications received – from all 54 African countries
- Underscoring Africa’s vibrant entrepreneurial sector and the vital role of early-stage funding
- Agriculture, Artificial Intelligence, Healthcare and Green Economy top sectors from applicants
- US$16 million to be disbursed throughout 2026, including progammes with global partners
Lagos, Nigeria – March 13, 2026 – The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs will announce the 12th cohort of the flagship TEF Entrepreneurship Programme on Sunday, March 22, 2026.
In 2026, the Foundation will empower a total of 3,200 entrepreneurs across all its entrepreneurship programmes:
- 1,751 entrepreneurs through Heirs Holdings Group: Heirs Energies, Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels, and United Capital;
- 1,049 entrepreneurs in partnership with the European Commission, OACPS, BMZ and GIZ;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with Sèmè City Development Agency;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with DEG, the German Development Agency;
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited and the Dutch Government; and
- 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with UNDP and the Rwandan Ministry of Youth and Arts.
Applications to the flagship programme were received from over 265,000 young Africans, representing all 54 African countries, underscoring Africa’s vibrant entrepreneurial sector and the funding challenge for entrepreneurs. The new cohort will join the TEF Alumni community of more than 24,000 entrepreneurs.
The selection process is conducted by Ernst & Young, ensuring an independent and rigorous assessment of applicants.
Each selected Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur will receive $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, access to world-class business management training on TEFConnect, one-on-one mentorship, and entry into a powerful network of investors, partners, and other entrepreneurs.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation has empowered over 2.5 million young Africans with access to business management training on our proprietary digital hub, TEFConnect, and disbursed over US$100 million in seed capital to more than 24,000 selected entrepreneurs. Collectively, these entrepreneurs have generated $4.2 billion in revenue and created more than 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs. Through our support for African entrepreneurs, TEF has lifted 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line, and positively impacted more than 4 million African households, with 46% of supported entrepreneurs being African women.
Ahead of the upcoming announcement, Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, reiterates his unwavering belief in the potential of Africa’s entrepreneurs:
“The future of Africa will be built by Africans who create businesses, generate jobs and solve the challenges of our continent. At the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we believe that empowering entrepreneurs is the most sustainable path to Africa’s economic transformation.
I look forward to announcing and congratulating the 2026 cohort of Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs and look forward to witnessing the impact they will create across our continent.”
We kindly invite you to save the date and join us virtually:
