The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) will announce the 12th cohort of its flagship TEF Entrepreneurship Programme on March 22, 2026, naming 3,200 young African entrepreneurs to receive seed funding and support. This announcement follows a record-breaking application cycle that drew over 265,000 submissions from all 54 African countries, highlighting both the continent’s dynamic entrepreneurial spirit and the persistent gap in early-stage funding.
The selected entrepreneurs represent key sectors including agriculture, artificial intelligence, healthcare, and the green economy. They will join an alumni network exceeding 24,000 business founders. Each will receive $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, complemented by business management training via the TEFConnect digital platform, mentorship, and access to a broad investor and partner network. Ernst & Young oversees the independent and rigorous selection process.
The foundation’s 2026 empowerment strategy is executed through multiple partnerships. The cohort includes 1,751 entrepreneurs via the Heirs Holdings Group (Heirs Energies, Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels, United Capital). An additional 1,049 are supported with the European Commission, OACPS, BMZ, and GIZ. Other partners include Sèmè City Development Agency (100), Germany’s DEG (100), the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited, and the Dutch Government (100), as well as UNDP and the Rwandan Ministry of Youth and Arts (100). A total of US$16 million will be disbursed throughout 2026.
This expansion builds on the foundation’s established impact. To date, TEF has trained over 2.5 million Africans on TEFConnect and provided more than $100 million in seed capital to over 24,000 entrepreneurs. Collectively, these businesses have generated $4.2 billion in revenue and created over 1.5 million jobs. The foundation’s work has helped lift 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line, impacting more than 4 million households, with women comprising 46% of supported entrepreneurs.
Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, emphasized the strategic importance of this work. “The future of Africa will be built by Africans who create businesses, generate jobs and solve the challenges of our continent. At the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we believe that empowering entrepreneurs is the most sustainable path to Africa’s economic transformation. I look forward to announcing and congratulating the 2026 cohort,” he stated.
The virtual announcement event on March 22 will formally introduce the new cohort, reinforcing a long-term commitment to catalysing private sector development across Africa through targeted, partnership-driven entrepreneurship investment.
