Tony Elumelu Foundation opens applications for 2025 Entrepreneurship Programmes
By Seun Ibiyemi
The Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF, Africa’s leading champion of entrepreneurship, has announced applications for its 2025 Entrepreneurship Programmes.
TEF in a statement urged all aspiring and existing entrepreneurs from across Africa to apply for a chance to receive world-class training, expert mentoring and non-refundable seed capital funding to scale their businesses.
“The Entrepreneurship Programme is open to all entrepreneurs across Africa with innovative business ideas or existing businesses not older than five years.
“This year, there is a special emphasis on businesses leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and green initiatives. Applicants must be at least 18 years old.
“IYBA-WE4A Entrepreneurship Programme: Launched by the Tony Elumelu Foundation in partnership with the European Union (EU) and Deutsche Gesellschaft f r Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), IYBA-WE4A, stands for Investing in Young Businesses in Africa – Women Entrepreneurship for Africa and is exclusively for women entrepreneurs with green business ideas or existing green businesses in Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Cameroon, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi and Togo. Applicants must be at least 18 years old, with businesses not exceeding five years in operation.
“Aguka Ideation Programme: The Aguka Ideation Entrepreneurship Programme is a partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, UNDP Rwanda and the Rwandan Ministry of Youths and Arts, to support young Rwandan entrepreneurs between 18-30, with business ideas with a seed capital of $3000, to nurture and develop innovative concepts into viable enterprises,” the statement added.
The statement said the application which opened on January 1, 2025, would close on March 1, 2025.
TEF is the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across all 54 African countries and increasing women’s economic empowerment.
Founded in 2010, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is committed to empowering African entrepreneurs, as a catalyst, for the continent’s economic transformation.
Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has provided up to 2.5 million young Africans with access to training on its digital hub, TEFConnect and disbursed over USD$100 million in direct funding to over 21,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 800,000 direct and indirect jobs and generated over USD$4.2 billion in revenue.
