By The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) says it will disburse over $16 million to support 3,200 young African entrepreneurs across all 54 countries on the continent in 2026, as the organisation expands partnerships and scales its flagship entrepreneurship programme.
Somachi Chris-Asoluka, chief executive officer (CEO) of the foundation, spoke on Saturday during a media briefing ahead of the official announcement of beneficiaries for this year’s TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
She said the initiative will provide selected entrepreneurs with $5,000 seed capital, alongside training, mentoring and business management support designed to help them launch and grow sustainable businesses.
“In 2026, the Tony Elumelu Foundation will disburse over $16 million to support, train, fund, coach and mentor 3,200 young African entrepreneurs from across the continent,” Chris-Asoluka said.
The CEO said the programme will be implemented in four cohorts, reflecting the foundation’s strategy to scale its impact through partnerships with governments, development agencies and private sector institutions.
According to Chris-Asoluka, the foundation has significantly expanded its partnership model in 2026, enabling it to reach more entrepreneurs across different regions and sectors.
“This year, the number of partnerships we have throughout the year and the type of partners, the calibre of partners, are incredibly exciting. That’s also pretty new,” she said.
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She said a total of 1,751 entrepreneurs will be funded through partnerships with Heirs Holdings Group companies — Heirs Energies, Transcorp Power, Transcorp Hotels and United Capital.
Others include 1,049 entrepreneurs, who will be supported in collaboration with the European Commission, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), Germany’s federal ministry for economic cooperation and development (BMZ), and the German development agency (GIZ).
She added that 100 entrepreneurs each will also be funded through partnerships with the Seme City Development Agency, the German development finance institution (DEG), a coalition involving the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited initiative and the Dutch government, as well as the United Nations Development Programme and Rwanda’s ministry of youth and arts.
Chris-Asoluka said the foundation received over 260,000 applications for the 2026 programme, underscoring the growing demand for entrepreneurship support across Africa.
The CEO identified agriculture, retail, artificial intelligence (AI), information and communication technology (ICT), the green economy, education and healthcare as some of the most active sectors among applicants this year.
“Some of the biggest sectors we’ve seen this year include agriculture and agribusiness, retail, AI and technology, the green economy, education and healthcare,” she said.
Chris-Asoluka also said the foundation does not prioritise specific industries, stressing that entrepreneurs are selected based on the viability and scalability of their business ideas.
“We want to make sure that your idea is feasible, viable and scalable. Our intent is not to build businesses that are confined to a small geography. We want our entrepreneurs to grow across their countries and beyond,” she said.
‘INFRASTRUCTURE REMAINS A CHALLENGE FOR ENTREPRENEURS’
Chris-Asoluka said infrastructure challenges, particularly unreliable electricity supply, remain one of the biggest barriers to small business growth across Africa.
“80 percent of entrepreneurs tell us that they spend the most part of their revenues on generating power or obtaining power supply for their businesses, and that’s not sustainable,” she said.
“If you’re a small business and you have to spend most of your income fuelling a generator or buying an inverter system, chances of success are more diminished.”
The CEO said the foundation complements its financial support with advocacy aimed at improving the policy and infrastructure environment for entrepreneurs.
“A big part of the work we do is not just directly supporting entrepreneurs, but also helping policymakers understand the importance of infrastructure and creating an enabling environment for businesses to thrive,” she said.
Chris-Asoluka also said the programme has recorded a 77.5 percent business survival rate five years after funding, significantly higher than the estimated 10 percent survival rate for startups across the African continent.
“That statistic shows that our combination of training, mentoring, funding and access is turning things around for entrepreneurs,” she said.
The CEO added that the foundation prioritises inclusion, noting that about 15 percent of beneficiaries identify as persons living with disabilities.
She encouraged applicants who are not selected in the current cycle to reapply in future editions of the programme.
“Entrepreneurship is a long journey. It’s not linear. There are highs and there are lows. If you apply to our programme and you don’t get in the first time, we encourage you to apply again,” the CEO said.
Chris-Azoluka added that since its launch in 2015, the TEF has disbursed over $100 million to more than 24,000 entrepreneurs across Africa.
The CEO also said supported businesses have collectively created 1.5 million jobs, generated $4.2 billion in revenue, and helped lift an estimated 2.1 million people out of poverty across the continent.
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