The Tony Elumelu Foundation has disbursed a total of $100m to support about 24,000 young entrepreneurs across 54 African countries since it launched its flagship programme in 2015.
The Chief Executive Officer of the foundation, Somachi Chris-Asoluka, disclosed this on Saturday during a virtual press conference held to announce the 2026 cohort of 3,200 beneficiaries selected from across the continent.
She said, “Since 2015, when we started our programme, we have disbursed over $100m to over 24,000 young men and women across the entire African continent,” adding that every African country is represented in the initiative.
Chris-Asoluka noted that the intervention had continued to expand its reach and impact over the years, with beneficiaries collectively generating about $4.2bn in revenue and creating over 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs.
According to her, the programme was designed to address Africa’s persistent unemployment challenge by supporting small and medium-scale enterprises, which she described as the primary drivers of job creation on the continent.
She explained that despite the scale of the initiative, many African countries still face high levels of youth unemployment, making sustained investment in entrepreneurship critical.
The TEF boss added that the foundation’s model goes beyond funding by combining financial support with capacity building to enable entrepreneurs to build viable and scalable businesses.
