- US$5,000 non-refundable seed capital, world-class training, and mentorship for Africa’s boldest founders
- 24,000+ entrepreneurs funded, 2.5 million trained, 1.5 million jobs created, US$4.2 billion in revenue generated since 2015
Lagos, Nigeria – 1 January 2026 – The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has opened applications for the 2026 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, calling ambitious young founders from all 54 African countries to apply now on TEFConnect.
Successful applicants receive US$5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, intensive business training, mentorship, and direct access to Africa’s largest entrepreneurship network.
Since 2015, the Programme has funded over 24,000 entrepreneurs, trained 2.5 million Africans, created more than 1.5 million jobs, and generated over US$4.2 billion in revenue, proving that African entrepreneurs can transform the continent.
The Programme is also driving inclusive growth, with women now making up 46% of TEF entrepreneurs – the highest female participation rate recorded by a programme of this scale.
Speaking on the 2026 launch, TEF Founder and Heirs Holdings Group Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, said:
“Africa’s greatest asset is our people… Africa does not need aid; Africa needs investment, in infrastructure, in institutions, but most critically in our young.
Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we show that when entrepreneurs are empowered, they create jobs, drive growth, and transform communities.
Entrepreneurs are the future of Africa.”
Applications for the 2026 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme are open from 1 January to 1 March 2026 on www.TEFConnect.com.
TEF Impact
Click here for country-level data on young entrepreneurs supported through TEF’s funding, training, and mentorship in each African country. To explore TEF’s transformative impact across the continent, visit the Foundation’s Impact Page and Annual Reports. To hear directly from the entrepreneurs themselves, visit the TEF Success Stories page.
About The Tony Elumelu Foundation
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation, and advancing inclusive economic growth across all 54 African countries. TEF’s work is rooted in Africapitalism; the belief that Africa’s private sector is the most effective engine for long-term development.
The robust ability of TEF to reach entrepreneurs across geographies and sectors has enabled it to conduct innovative partnerships with the European Union (EU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the US Government via the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the French Development Agency (AFD), the German Development Finance Institution (DEG), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the African Development Bank (AfDB), Google, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Generation Unlimited (GenU), and the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation (KBZF).
