
Tony O. Elumelu C.F.R (Founder & Chairman, The Tony Elumelu Foundation) is one year older today, and he says: “[I am} +1 today and no better way to celebrate than announcing the 2024 beneficiaries of The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme.
“Over 1,000 young men and women from all 54 African countries will each receive a non refundable seed capital of $5,000 to help start their own businesses.
“This journey began 10 years ago by Awele [Elumelu] and I, with a vision to democratise luck and transform lives across Africa. So, today is about Impact, Reflection, and Gratitude 🙏”
The target for the The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) was to groom and support 10,000 entrepreneurs across Africa, in 10 years. But as TEEP marks its 10th anniversary in 2024, the goal has been exceeded, with 20,000 supported beneficiaries who collectively received over $100 million creating 400,000 jobs.
Elumelu added: “We track how the beneficiaries are succeeding and how they are impacting humanity, society, and their communities. They have generated over $1.2 billion in revenue in their businesses. All have not succeeded, but we did tell ourselves from the onset that it is not about 100 per cent success.
“Even if 40, 50 per cent of our beneficiaries succeed, let us through them help to eradicate poverty, but more importantly, show others, because we are trying to crowd in others into this space of entrepreneurship, we’re trying to encourage other successful Africans and global institutions and citizens that in the 21st century, there is a better way to develop Africa than just aid.”

During the 2024 cohort announcement event, a rousing applause was given to 2015 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme alumna, Princess Adeyinka Tekenah (CEO of Happy Coffee) who declared, with appreciation, that she had turned the $5,000 seed capital she received into a multi-million dollar business. Happy Coffee, an indigenous Nigerian coffee brand, was founded in 2015 to create coffee-centred solutions.
Closing out the day, and addressing the 1,104 beneficiaries of the 2024 programme, Dr. Awele Elumelu (co-Founder of TEF) said, “To today’s 10th cohorts, I want to say as you embark on the next phase of your journey, know that you’re a part of a network of entrepreneurs, a big network of entrepreneurs, and I want to say that you have all our support here- all of us here, we’re here to support you, to cheer you, to celebrate you, to pray for you, as the Chairman has very nicely said. But to those who were not selected, let me also assure you that your journey is far from over.”