The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has unveiled a $15 million grant aimed at empowering 3,000 young entrepreneurs across 52 African countries as part of its 2025 entrepreneurship programme.
The announcement was made in Abuja on Saturday, March 22, by the Foundation’s founder, Tony Elumelu, who is also the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, Transcorp, and United Bank for Africa (UBA). The event marked the unveiling of the 11th cohort of beneficiaries, including 56 Cameroonian entrepreneurs selected for training and financing.
Elumelu said each selected entrepreneur will receive a non-refundable seed grant of $5,000 to either launch or scale their business.
“Our vision, which began in 2010, is to create a self-sustaining Africa powered by the energy, vision, and resilience of young entrepreneurs,” he said. “We recognise the challenges they face in contributing to Africa’s economic transformation. However, if empowered and encouraged, these young Africans can drive meaningful change.”
Elumelu emphasised that while access to capital is crucial, mentorship, business education, and continuous training are equally vital in fostering sustainable enterprises.
He said: “In the 21st century, Africa does not need aid; what it needs is investment in its youth”.
Over FCFA 1.6 bn provided to Cameroonian entrepreneurs
Since its launch in 2015, the Foundation has disbursed over $115 million to more than 24,000 entrepreneurs, generating over 1.5 million jobs across the continent. Cameroon has been a key beneficiary of the initiative. Between 2015 and 2024, TEF provided financial aid to 689 young Cameroonian entrepreneurs through its Entrepreneurship Program (TEEP), disbursing a total of over $2.73 million (or over CFA1.6 billion).
“We are keenly aware of the millions we’ve yet to reach, which is why I keep advocating that what Africa needs is not aid, but investments – in infrastructure and in our young ones, where the future lies,” Elumelu added.
He underscored that the Foundation’s mission is driven by a commitment to Africa’s development rather than mere financial abundance.
“What we do at the Foundation is not out of an abundance of wealth, but from a deep realisation that if we don’t do this, we are creating problems for ourselves. It is in our collective existential interest to identify and support them,” the TEF founder said.
Selection and training process
TEF’s Chief Executive Officer, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, said the Foundation had received over 200,000 applications for the 2025 cohort, from which 3,000 entrepreneurs across 52 African countries were selected to benefit from the $15m grant, including 56 from Cameroon.
“Our entrepreneurs have demonstrated that ideas are the lifeblood of the African continent. Each selected entrepreneur will receive a $5,000 non-refundable seed grant; this is neither a loan nor equity,” she said.
Chris-Asoluka reaffirmed the Foundation’s commitment to nurturing young African entrepreneurs and attracting like-minded partners to join the cause.
She highlighted that over 2.5 million young Africans have been trained through TEF’s digital platform, TEFConnect, equipping them with essential business skills. Furthermore, a robust monitoring and evaluation framework has been established to track the progress of funded entrepreneurs six months after disbursement.
The selection process, overseen by Ernst & Young, is based on five key criteria: feasibility, scalability, market opportunity, financial literacy, and leadership.
Strategic partnerships
Chris-Asoluka also pointed out the Foundation’s strategic collaborations with global organizations, including the European Union, United Nations Development Programme, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited, IKEA Foundation, and the United States African Development Foundation, among others.
Through these efforts, the Tony Elumelu Foundation continues to solidify its role as a catalyst for economic growth, fostering a new generation of African entrepreneurs poised to drive sustainable development across the continent, with Cameroon playing an active role in this transformation.
