The Tony Elumelu Foundation, the 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 is expected to empower 3,200 entrepreneurs across all its entrepreneurship programmes.
These include 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 Seme City Development Agency; and 100 entrepreneurs in partnership with DEG, the German Development Agency.
Others are 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.
The TEF, in a statement on Thursday, March 19, said applications to the flagship programme were received from over 265,000 young Africans, representing all 54 African countries, adding that the new cohort will join the TEF Alumni community of more than 24,000 entrepreneurs.
The Foundation noted that the selection process was conducted by Ernst & Young, ensuring an independent and rigorous assessment of applicants.
According to the Foundation, 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.
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Speaking ahead of the forthcoming announcement, the TEF Founder, Tony Elumelu, reiterated his unwavering belief in the potential of Africa’s entrepreneurs.
Elumelu said: “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.”
According to the statement, 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 $100 million in seed capital to more than 24,000 selected entrepreneurs.
It added: “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.”
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