We Spent $100m To Empower African Entrepreneurs – Tony Elumelu

The Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Tony Elumelu, announced that the foundation has empowered over 18,000 young African entrepreneurs since its inception.

VerseNews reports that he stated this yesterday in Abuja during an interactive session with the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, Ms. Juta Urpilainen who was visiting Nigeria for the first time.

Elumelu discussed the TEF’s commitment to providing seed capital and training to young entrepreneurs.

The TEF has dedicated $100 million to support these entrepreneurs, creating over 400,000 jobs in the process.

“The Tony Elumelu Foundation has committed 100 million dollars to impact 18,000 young African entrepreneurs by giving them a seed capital of $5,000 and training them for six weeks as well as providing mentors to coach them. They in turn have gone to create thousands of jobs, which is the impact we want to see.

“The partnership with the EU is to deepen our collaboration. Beyond the TEF, I try to attract investments into Africa and Nigeria, the visiting delegation is even more focused on business than entrepreneurship and we believe that the ultimate to peace and security is empowerment. It is not about handouts but practical economic empowerment.

“The impact report of the foundation shows that it has created over 400,000 jobs and we will continue to invest more in youth entrepreneurship,” he said.

The collaboration with the EU aims to deepen this effort and promote mutually beneficial partnerships.

The EU has earmarked £150 million in funding for Africa by 2027, with a focus on energy, digital, and transport infrastructure.