Entrepreneurs of Tony Elumelu Foundation ( TEF) generated $4.2 billion revenue and created more than 1.5 million direct and indirect jobs in eleven years of its existence. Over 2.5 million young Africans secured access to business management training on the Foundation proprietary digital hub, TEFConnect, while it disbursed over $100 million in seed capital to more than 24,000 selected entrepreneurs on the Programme.

The Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer, Mrs Somachi Chris-Asoluka revealed details of TEF on Saturday during a virtually held interactive session with journalists ahead of the unveiling of the 2026 batch of Tony Elumelu Foundation ( TEF) Entrepreneurs this Sunday.

Addressing journalists selected from news outlets across the Continent, Chris-Asoluka said ” through our support for African entrepreneurs, TEF has lifted 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line, and positively impacted more than 4 million African households, with 46 per cent of supported entrepreneurs being African women”.

She said electricity supply is a major challenge hindering 80 percent of the Foundation entrepreneurs based on feedback . While noting power supply a key challenge to businesses in Africa, Asoluka said the Foundation interfaces with power sector regulators and concerned authorities in seeking ways to address the power supply challenge.

Despite the power supply challenge, she said 77.5 per cent of the Foundation’s Entrepreneurs are still active on their line of businesses. “Electricity supply is a challenge, 80 per cent of Entrepreneurs told us they spent heavily on generating power. We help by interfacing with the regulators . It’s not a problem confined to Nigeria, it’s a problem across the continent .

The Chairman of the Foundation is not just advocating regular power supply, he invested heavily on power through Transcorp power which produces 30 percent electricity supply. 77.5 percent of Entrepreneurs are still active in their businesses”, she said.

The Foundation is set to announce the 12th cohort of beneficiaries of its Entrepreneurship Programme on Sunday, March 22, 2026, following what it described as a record surge in applications from across the continent.

In a statement earlier , the foundation said it received over 265,000 applications from entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries, reflecting growing interest in business development opportunities, particularly in sectors such as artificial intelligence, agriculture and the green economy.

The statement read, “In an unprecedented demonstration of Africa’s rising economic empowerment, the Tony Elumelu Foundation is set to unveil the 12th cohort of its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme on Sunday, March 22, 2026. “This follows a record-shattering surge of over 265,000 applications from across all 54 African nations.

This massive influx of interest underscores a continent-wide hunger for transformation, particularly within high impact sectors like artificial intelligence, agriculture, and the green economy.”