2025 TEF Flagship Entrepreneurship Programme Application deadline is Saturday, 1st March 2025 at 11:59 pm (WAT) | Apply Now

2025 TEF Flagship Entrepreneurship Programme Application deadline is Saturday, 1st March 2025 at 11:59 pm (WAT)  | Apply Now 

Tony Elumelu is a prominent Nigerian entrepreneur, philanthropist, and the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), which is dedicated to empowering African entrepreneurs and driving economic transformation across the continent. 

Through the 2025 TEF Flagship Entrepreneurship Programme, his vision continues to catalyze opportunities for young Africans by providing them with the tools, resources, and support needed to turn their business ideas into reality.

The 2025 TEF Flagship Entrepreneurship Programme is a cornerstone of the foundation’s efforts to foster entrepreneurship across all 54 African countries. 

This initiative, rooted in Elumelu’s philosophy of Africapitalism—where the private sector, particularly entrepreneurs, serves as the engine for Africa’s social and economic development—offers a comprehensive support system for aspiring and existing entrepreneurs. 

The programme targets individuals with innovative business ideas or early-stage ventures (less than five years old) operating in any sector, with a special emphasis in 2025 on businesses leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and green initiatives.

Participants in the programme receive world-class business training, expert mentorship, and access to a global network of entrepreneurs via TEFConnect, the foundation’s digital hub. 

A key feature is the provision of non-refundable seed capital of up to $5,000, which helps beneficiaries kickstart or scale their ventures. The application window for the 2025 cohort opened on January 1, 2025, and closes on March 1, 2025, with submissions accepted through TEFConnect.

Since its inception in 2015, the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme has empowered over 21,000 African entrepreneurs, disbursing more than $100 million in funding. These entrepreneurs have collectively generated over $4.2 billion in revenue and created more than 800,000 direct and indirect jobs, showcasing the tangible impact of Elumelu’s vision. 

The 2025 programme builds on this legacy, aiming to further drive job creation, financial inclusion, and sustainable growth across the continent.

For Tony Elumelu, entrepreneurship is a vital mechanism for eradicating poverty and engaging Africa’s youth productively. Through the 2025 TEF Flagship Entrepreneurship Programme, he continues to democratize opportunity, ensuring that young Africans with scalable ideas can access the resources they need to succeed, thereby transforming the continent one entrepreneur at a time.

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