By Bayo Davids
A leading Non-profit organization, The Tony Elumelu Foundation has empowered over 20,4sssrstts000 entrepreneurs in just 10 years of its establishment.
The entrepreneurs drawn from different sectors of the economy have in turn, established successful businesses across many sectors.
This far, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has disbursed US$100,000,000 directly to young African entrepreneurs, who have created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing significantly to Africa’s economic growth and development.
Most importantly is the fact that 46% of these beneficiaries are women, an indication of the Foundation’s commitment to gender inclusion and equity.
In the past, the Foundation selected the likes of Stella Sigana, founder of Alternative Waste Technologies from Kenya, who is today, producing fuel briquettes by converting organic and charcoal waste from slum settlements, with a portion of the revenues devoted to funding education, skills acquisition and job placement for adolescent girls and young women aged 18-24.
Since her selection, Stella has created 12 jobs, generated over $79,000 in revenue, and recycled over 500 tons of waste into fuel briquettes for cooking. Her business model has also empowered hundreds of women entrepreneurs in slum settlements in Kenya, enabling them to build businesses by selling her products directly to their communities, thus significantly increasing household income and wellbeing.
Another entrepreneur funded by TEF is Vital Sounouvou from Benin Republic. He is the founder of Exportunity, an e-commerce platform that promotes export opportunities for Africans by connecting producers with traders.
Through Exportunity, Sounouvou has engaged over 750 clients, and built a database of 85,000 companies trading with Africa. He has employed 32 people.
Another TEF’s succes story is Nora Chaynane, a Moroccan entrepreneur, and founder of Shine Space, a socio-educational initiative aimed at bridging the knowledge gap and guiding students toward the right career path, helps young Moroccans develop technical and interpersonal skills beyond school curriculum requirements. Through Shine Space, Nora has upskilled and capacitised over 2,500 young Moroccans.
In a release issued by Moyo Awotile, Head Marketing and Corporate Communications of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the body has Since inception in 2010, “Pioneered an innovative approach to seeding, capacitising and networking young entrepreneurs across Africa.
“Drawing directly from Founder Tony Elumelu’s entrepreneurial journey, the Foundation democratizes luck, spreads opportunity, in a sector agnostic approach, and has developed a bespoke infrastructure that reaches every country in Africa.”