Heard of Tony Elumelu Foundation?
“Africa’s greatest asset is our people. Africa does not need aid; Africa needs investment, in infrastructure, in institutions, but most critically in our young— Tony O. Elumelu
Very inspiring and encouraging; this Nigerian philanthropist is really very encouraging. At least I have met someone that has my visions too and I look forward to keep mine going. First and foremost, maybe I should take time and start from how I got to know this foundation.
In my hunt for fund raising, I am venturing into everywhere of likeliest opportunities; loans, grants, sponsors, angel investors and capital Affiliate. We will need capital and I am talking about the one that I can't waste time thinking of manually raising it. I was doing some research and I found out about TEF (Tony Elumelu Foundation).
This foundation has been in existence for years and I knew nothing about it. I can say I have been quite ignorant in the past. It is good I have woken up from that deep sleep. There is no time anymore to chicken out, I TRY things out and if I succeed very better and if don't, I have learnt something new; still part of the needed progress. I won't be talking much it is better to decode from the horses mouth, my idea is to update African entrepreneurs or wannabe entrepreneurs on this chain. So what is TEF?
source
The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has opened applications for the 2026 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, calling ambitious young founders from ALL 54 African countries to apply NOW on TEFConnect. Successful applicants receive US$5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, intensive business training, mentorship, and direct access to Africa’s largest entrepreneurship Network. Since 2015, the Programme has funded over 24,000 entrepreneurs, trained 2.5 million Africans, created more than 1.5 million jobs, and generated over US$4.2 billion in revenue, proving that African entrepreneurs can transform the continent. The Programme is also driving inclusive growth, with women NOW making up 46% of TEF entrepreneurs – the highest female participation rate recorded by a programme of this scale. Speaking on the 2026 launch, TEF Founder and Heirs Holdings Group Chairman, Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, said: “Africa’s greatest asset is our people. Africa does not need aid; Africa needs investment, in infrastructure, in institutions, but most critically in our young. Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we show that when entrepreneurs are empowered, they create jobs, drive growth, and transform communities. Entrepreneurs are the future of Africa.”Applications for the 2026 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme are open from 1 January to 1 March 2026 on www.TEFConnect.com. source
source
I am trying to be as open as possible in this article, who knows who can get that $5K dollars sponsorship from this ecosystem. We are working on improving entrepreneurs on this chain. It is a vision I have been talking about severally, if we are able to onboard enough nough entrepreneurs to Hive, then true utility will be discovered. I tried to access their application portal today but I couldn't.
I think there is a lot of congestion after the press releases. Ok, at least I was able to register as a member yesterday, nothing much to panic about. Personally, I am keeping everything very positive. I am saying this so that you don't get a first time disappointment and refuse to check back. It is worth giving a try from my own views.
To conclude, let me add, as I earlier said, I am looking for means to attract funds and manifest the new company vision while also not ignoring the importance of my co-partnered brand. The duty of an entrepreneur is to generate a solid idea, as for capital; that's left for investors. In short, the vision at hand needs more grants and Angel investors than loans unless it will be a realistic soft loan. We will really be going long term on investment meaning offsetting short term paydays are very necessary. I don't know for you but I believe in miracles. .
Posted Using INLEO