Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEF)
Tony Elumelu Foundation
Flagship pan-African programme giving selected entrepreneurs (18+, idea stage or business under 5 years) online business training, mentorship and USD 5,000 non-refundable seed capital. Open to citizens of all 54 African countries, including Ghana.
Verified today · verified by our team · Official page
Create a free student account to check your eligibility and get reminders.
Eligibility
- Who can apply
- Africa
- Education required
- None
- Age
- from 18 (Applicants must be 18 years or above)
- Fields
- Entrepreneurship, Business
- Language
- Application available in English, French, Portuguese and Arabic
- Residency
- Must reside in Africa and plan to establish/run the business in Africa
- Also required
- Business idea or existing business no older than 5 years
- Has never benefitted from a previous TEF programme
- Selected entrepreneurs must provide government ID, business registration, tax registration and a bank reference letter before disbursement
About this opportunity
The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is the Tony Elumelu Foundation's flagship initiative for African entrepreneurs. Since 2015 it has funded more than 24,000 entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries with USD 5,000 each in non-refundable seed capital, alongside structured business-management training, mentoring (mentors commit at least two hours a month) and access to the TEF alumni network.
Applicants must be Africans aged 18 or above who live in Africa and plan to run their business in Africa, with either a business idea or a business no older than five years, and who have not benefitted from a previous TEF programme. Applications are made on TEFConnect; the portal normally opens on 1 January and closes at midnight on 1 March. Selected entrepreneurs later supply ID, business registration, tax and bank-reference documents before seed capital is disbursed.
- Level
- Any level
- Where
- Online
- Duration
- Online training programme followed by seed-capital disbursement (exact length not stated on official page)
- Number of awards
- Varies by year; over 24,000 entrepreneurs funded since 2015
- Difficulty
- High · about 4 weeks to prepare
Funding
Prize
- prize money
- training
USD 5,000 non-refundable seed capital per selected entrepreneur, plus business-management training, mentorship and alumni network access
What you will need
- Passport or national ID
- Other documents
Online application on TEFConnect (business and personal questions). Post-selection: government-issued photo ID, headshot, business registration certificate, tax registration, bank reference letter, partner consent form if co-owned.
Track this application and eStudent360 turns the list into a checklist and, with Plus, a dated plan that works back from the deadline.