Accra, Ghana, March 28, 2018//–40 young Ghanaian entrepreneurs have been selected for the fourth edition of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme. This number is higher than the 2017 figure of 24.
They are among the 1,000 young African entrepreneurs, to form the 2018 class of the Foundation’s prolific $100m Entrepreneurship Programme.
There was a near 50-50 split between male and female applications, reflecting the entrepreneurial ambition of Africa’s women. Agriculture was the leading sector among selected entrepreneurs at 30.5%, followed by technology (10.5%) and Education& training (9%).
While entrepreneurs in sectors including commercial/retail, professional services, manufacturing, energy and power generation, and waste management were also selected. A full list of the selected 2018 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs is on www.tonyelumelufoundation.org.
A press release issued in Lagos, Nigeria announcing the selection said applications were received from more than 150,000 Africans from 114 countries worldwide applied to join the 4th cycle of The TEF 10-year, $100 million TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
” Today, the Foundation announced the African entrepreneurs with the most innovative, high-potential business ideas”.
The 2018 cohort includes an additional 250 entrepreneurs to the standard selection of 1,000 – thanks to: a $1,000,000 partnership with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to support 200 entrepreneurs in conflict and fragile zones of Nigeria (the North East where the Boko Haram scourge is felt and the Niger Delta region which suffers environmental degradation from oil spillage) a $200,000 agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to support 40 pan-African entrepreneurs; and a $50,000 partnership with Indorama to support 10 Nigerians.
TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, said : “The number and quality of applicants, 151,000 in total, was outstanding – it illustrates the strength and depth of entrepreneurial promise and commitment on our continent. Selection is never easy, and we profoundly regret that we cannot help all.
Our partnerships with the Red Cross, UNDP and Indorama, alongside ongoing discussions with other international organizations, reflect the growing global recognition of what we have known all along – that entrepreneurship is the most effective path to sustainable development on our continent and our Programme is the model to follow.”
TEF CEO, Parminder Vir OBE, said: “Over the next nine months, the entrepreneurs will receive online training and mentoring, and will use the skills acquired to develop business plans prior to receiving $5,000* in seed capital. This will bring TEF’s total programme investment so far to $15 million in direct funding to entrepreneurs and $5.8 million in Programme & technology development and operations.
Next Processes
After the selection in process in March 2018, the 1,000 selected entrepreneurs will start a 12-week training programme in the first week of May to equip these start-ups with the basic skills required to launch and run their businesses at early growth stage.
It covers several topics including starting and scaling a business, business development, marketing strategy, effective management, product design etc.
During the same period, each of them will have a mentor assigned to them. The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme model, according to senior managers of TEF provides a credible technology-enabled platform for access to world-class mentors from across Africa and international.
These mentors have faced similar challenges and are able to steer up the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme startups on a successful path. These mentors’ role is to guide them on the journey of entrepreneurship.
Besides these, during the 12-week and beyond, the Foundation has webinars to further train and share tips, lessons, best practices, and the general words of encouragements.
In addition to this, a bespoke compendium of materials, case studies, videos, tasks, templates and interesting articles.
This includes the 12-week series on the Tony Elumelu (TOE) Way, shared concurrently. It expounds the core business values of the Founder, Tony Elumelu, with an aim to building the right character in the entrepreneurs.
After the 12-week training programme, the entrepreneurs are required to write their business plans at the end of the 12-week training session. The written business plans will contain a much-detailed plan of their business ideas.
Their business plans are reviewed by Accenture, a leading global management consulting and professional services company which provides strategy, consulting, digital, technology and operations services, which gives the 1,000 selected entrepreneurs feedback on the business plans which they will be implemented, the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Madam Owen Omogiafo told African Eye Report.
So, all these steps culminated into the annual TEF Entrepreneurship Forum which has been described as the largest gathering of entrepreneurs in Africa. It is normally held in Lagos, Nigeria in the month of October.
The TEF uses the forum to create networking opportunities for the young entrepreneurs, further skills enhancement, engagement with policy makers, and building new relationships for themselves.
Having successfully gone through the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, each entrepreneur will receive two tranches of seed capital, totaling US$10,000.
A first stage non-returnable seed capital of US$5,000 will be given to each entrepreneur . While the second US$5,000 is either a loan or an equity, and is tied to clear milestones in a well articulated and relevant business plan.
After successfully going through the whole TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, all the selected 1,000 entrepreneurs receive certificates personally signed by Mr Tony Elumelu, Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
They will also receive entrepreneurship toolkits.
By Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, African Eye Report
Email: mk68008@gmail.com
