Tony O. Elumelu, a Nigerian economist and philanthropist, is the founder and he also leads Heirs Holdings, Transcorp, and the United Bank for Africa. His most significant achievement is his turning around a struggling bank into a formidable financial institution through a ground-breaking merger that established him as a billionaire.
Objectives of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme
The Foundation does not have specific mandate in terms of the sector that they fund. Amongst the business the Foundation has supported include healthcare, energy, ICT, fashion, oil and gas, FMCG, waste, construction, manufacturing, telecom, media and entertainment, transportation, consulting, and many others. There is also no specific age restriction to be considered for the programme – only that entrepreneurs must be over 18 years of age. This is one of the features that makes this programme different and attractive.
Eligibility
To qualify, the following criteria will apply:
- Entrepreneurs can come from any of the countries on the African continent.
- The entrepreneur must be developing businesses that are scalable.
- Alternatively, the businesses must be operational for at least 3 years.
- Applicants must be 18 years of age and above.
Entrepreneurs must supply the following documents:
- A form of identification for the business, issued officially by the government.
- For existing businesses, official business registration certificate, official list of directors and proof of ownership of the business.
- Official consent to apply by shareholder and partners.
To apply for funding, here is a link and the closing date is 1 March 2024.
Selected Tony Elumelu Alumni
To give an idea of the kind of startups that are good fit, the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme lists the following companies in their large portfolio:
- Danso Kwabena from Ghana, who started Booomers International, a company that produces and markets bamboo bicycles and accessories to both the Ghanaian and international markets.
- Chidi Ohamma from Nigeria, who started a company Kompletecare that offers convenient telehealth services and expert healthcare directly to homes. Patients can access the care they need without leaving their homes and can count on trusted medical support whenever it’s needed.
- Chinedu Emenalo from Nigeria who started Kobopay, a digital banking platform designed to provide affordable financial services to the underserved population. The platform he created provides the unbanked general population with easy to use digital payment and savings platform.
- Dennis Mutoro from Kenya, who started Africarlogistics, a company that providing logistics services throughout East Africa and the great lakes regions, including Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Southern Sudan and Rwanda.
- Agbor Ako from Nigeria who started GiftedMom, a mobile health solutions provider that leverages last mile technologies to provide pregnant women and new mothers access to health information.
Further Information
One of our objectives is to empower small businesses and startups by curating funding opportunities that we come across. Refer to this page for other opportunities.
