By Bassey Udo
Nigeria has recorded the most significant impact from the implementation of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme in Africa.
Among the 54 countries in Africa, Nigeria emerged tops among 11 countries that beneficiaries from the programme realised about $10 million and above through the implementation of the programme since its inception.
Country-by-country data made available to journalists on on Saturday on the impact of the Foundation across the continent showed that a total of 9,229 beneficiaries from Nigeria not only realised $182,963,077 in revenue, but they created 488,242 job opportunities in different sectors of the nation’s economy.
Mali came second with 2,995 beneficiaries creating 255,396 job opportunities and accounting for about
$90,366,278.00, while Uganda came third with 1,464 beneficiaries with 97,335 job opportunities created and generating about $28,665,220 in revenue.
Other countries with significant impact records as a result of the Foundation’s programmes include Kenya with 1,292 beneficiaries that created 51,931 job opportunities and generating about $22,576,498; Benin with 1,011 beneficiaries generated $20,798,109 revenue and created 78,839 job opportunities, while Cameroon with 866 beneficiaries generated $20,255,550 and created 58,703 job opportunities.
Similarly, Chad with 605 beneficiaries generated $17,874,317 revenue and created 53,465 job opportunities; Ghana with 536 beneficiaries, generated
$10,127,775 revenue and created 27,894 job opportunities, while Mauritania, with 336 beneficiaries, generated $10,067,491 revenue and created 21,024 job opportunities.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Somachi Chris-Asoluka, who was presenting the Foundation’s impact reports since its inception in 2015 on Saturday said sectoral impact were in Agri-business/farming was 21%, Others 12%, Agriculture 9%, Fashion 8%, Manufacturing and ICT 6%, while Education & Training, Healthcare, Commercial/Retail trade recorded 4% each and Food & beverages 3%.
Answering questions during a virtual media briefing ahead of the formal announcement of the 2026 beneficiaries for Programme, Chris-Asoluka said a shortlist of about 3,200 entrepreneurs would be selected from about 260,000 applications received from different sectors, including agriculture, artificial intelligence, green economy, education and healthcare.
This year’s programme, she said, would be implemented in four cohorts, with each beneficiary receiving the $5,000 seed capital, alongside training, mentoring and business management support to help them launch and grow sustainable businesses, in line with the strategy to scale its impact through partnerships with governments, development agencies and private sector institutions.
The Foundation, she said, has significantly expanded this year’s partnership model to cover more prospective beneficiaries across different regions and sectors.
While about 1,751 entrepreneurs would be supported through multiple partnership streams, including collaborations with the Heirs Holdings Group companies, including Heirs Energies, Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels and United Capital, the CEO disclosed that about 1,049 others would be funded through partnerships with global development institutions in collaboration with the European Commission, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), and the German development agency (GIZ).
Also, 100 entrepreneurs each would be funded through partnerships with the Seme City Development Agency, the German development finance institution (DEG), a coalition involving the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited initiative and the Dutch government, as well as the United Nations Development Programme and Rwanda’s Ministry of Youth and Arts.
On limitations to the achievement of the Foundation’s objectives, Chris-Asoluka said infrastructure remains the greatest challenge to small businesses growth in Africa, particularly unreliable electricity supply, with more than 80 percent of entrepreneurs spending the bulk of their revenues on generating power or obtaining power supply for their businesses.
Despite all the challenges, Chris-Asoluka said the programme model recorded a 77.5 percent business survival rate in five years after funding, indicative of a significantly higher rate than the estimated 10 percent survival rate for startups across Africa.
She said the Foundation has been able to achieve this 3with a combination of training, mentoring, funding and access to capital, which have helped the entrepreneurs turn things around.
Since its inception in 2015, the CEO said the TEF has disbursed over $100 million to more than 24,000 entrepreneurs across Africa, adding that benefitting businesses have collectively created 1.5 million jobs, generated $4.2 billion in revenue, and helped lift an estimated 2.1 million people out of poverty across the continent.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is Africa’s leading philanthropy committed to catalysing youth entrepreneurship across the continent.
The Foundation is empowering a new
generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment.
The Foundation’s mission, which is rooted in Africapitalism, positions entrepreneurs from the private sector as the catalyst for the socio-economic development of the continent.
