TEF-Backed Entrepreneurs Generate $4.2bn, Create 1.5 Million Jobs Across Africa

Entrepreneurs backed by the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) have generated more than $4.2 billion in cumulative revenue since the organisation began its grant programme in 2015.

Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, revealed this during a virtual media briefing, where she also stated that over $100 million has been distributed to nearly 24,000 young entrepreneurs across Africa.

She noted that the beneficiaries of the programme have gone on to create about 1.5 million jobs, both directly and indirectly, across various sectors of the continent’s economy. The performance, she said, has strengthened the resolve of the foundation and its partners to scale up financial support for emerging businesses.

Chris-Asoluka emphasised that the foundation’s interventions are anchored on the conviction that entrepreneurship is central to reducing poverty and reshaping Africa’s economic future.

She explained that selected participants receive a $5,000 seed capital grant, in addition to structured business training and mentorship designed to help them either expand existing enterprises or establish new ones.

Highlighting operational challenges faced by entrepreneurs, she identified inadequate electricity supply as a major constraint. According to her, many small businesses spend as much as 60 per cent of their earnings on alternative power solutions, including generators and inverters.

To mitigate this challenge, she disclosed that TEF founder, Tony Elumelu, alongside the foundation’s leadership, has been engaging governments across Africa on the urgent need to improve power infrastructure.

She further stated that investments by programme beneficiaries cut across critical sectors such as agriculture, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and technology innovation.

Chris-Asoluka also announced that the foundation’s 2026 cohort of entrepreneurs will be formally unveiled by Elumelu in Abuja.