The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has announced 37 Kenyans among the 1,104 African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries as beneficiaries of its flagship entrepreneurship programme in 2024.
The 2024 beneficiaries will be the 10th cohort of the 10-year-long TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, each receiving a USD 5000 seed capital from the foundation.
Ms Mary Mulili, designated MD/CEO UBA Kenya, speaking at the announcement event in Nairobi stated that 782 Kenyan entrepreneurs have benefitted from TEF over the last 10 years with a seed capital of US Dollar 5000 each.
She added that the entrepreneurs represent different sectors such as Agriculture, waste management, ICT and manufacturing.
“This reflects our commitment to nurturing the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Kenya and Africa as a whole,” said Mary Mulili.
Tony Elumelu Foundation has disbursed US $100,000,000 directly into the hands of young African entrepreneurs, who have in turn, created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.
As a result, the Foundation has contributed significantly to Africa’s economic growth and development.
Meanwhile, 46% of the total beneficiaries are women, reiterating TEF’s commitment to gender inclusion and equity
Speaking at the announcement, founder Tony Elumelu, who is also United Bank for Africa Group Chairman said, “this journey began 10 years ago with a vision to transform lives across Africa.
“We believe in spreading luck, we believe in democratising luck, we believe in spreading prosperity and we think the easiest way to spread prosperity in Africa is to identify the best talent and invest in them.”
Launched in 2015, the programme, which is funded by United Bank for Africa Group Chairman Tony Elumelu, seeks to identify and empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs, create a million jobs and add $10 billion (Ksh1 trillion) in revenue to Africa.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation is one of the leading philanthropies, empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and increasing women economic empowerment.
Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub.
