Tony O. Elumelu unveiled in Abuja the 12th cohort of the pan-African entrepreneurship program led by his foundation.
This year, 3,200 entrepreneurs were selected from more than 265,000 applications across 54 African countries, highlighting the scale and competitiveness of the program. Among them, seven are from North Africa: three from Tunisia, two from Morocco, and two from Egypt.
Operating in strategic sectors such as technology, education, professional services, and agribusiness, these project leaders represent a new generation of entrepreneurs committed to addressing the economic and social challenges of their countries. Their selection, independently conducted by Ernst & Young, reflects a rigorous process at the continental level.
A notable feature of this edition is that 51% of the selected entrepreneurs are women, chosen strictly on merit without the use of quotas. This achievement underscores the growing prominence of female leadership within Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Each beneficiary will receive a non-refundable seed funding of $5,000, access to high-level training through the TEFConnect platform, personalized mentorship, as well as entry into a broad network of investors and partners.
Since its inception, the Foundation has trained more than 2.5 million young Africans and mobilized over $100 million to support more than 24,000 entrepreneurs across the continent.
In his annual letter titled “A Story of Hope,” Tony Elumelu reaffirmed his vision: to make opportunity accessible to all by transforming hope into a sustainable and structured system for Africa.
