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Tony Elumelu Foundation directly funds 1,000 entrepreneurs and an additional 2,050 beneficiaries supported by Foundation\u2019s partners<\/span><\/p>\n TEF Entrepreneurship Forum \u2013 Africa\u2019s largest entrepreneurship convening \u2013 to be held on July 26-27<\/span><\/p>\n ABUJA, NIGERIA, March 22, 2019\u2014 The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading African philanthropy committed to empowering African entrepreneurs, Friday announced 3,050 African entrepreneurs, drawn from all 54 African countries, selected to join the 5th cycle of its $100million TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.<\/span><\/p>\n The announcement was made at the Transcorp Hilton Abuja, following a presentation of the selection process by Accenture Development Partners.<\/span><\/p>\n This year, over 216,000 applications were received, an increase from last year\u2019s 151,000. Nearly 90,000 were submitted by female entrepreneurs, an increase of 45%, illustrating the Foundation\u2019s strategy to achieve greater gender balance. The selected Entrepreneurs will each receive non- refundable $5,000 of seed capital, access to mentors, and a 12-week business training programme, directly focused on the needs of African entrepreneurs. On July 26 \u2013 27 2019, they will gather at the TEF Entrepreneurship Forum, the largest annual gathering of African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem on the continent.<\/span><\/p>\n TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, who celebrated his birthday today, said: \u201cEvery year, we face an almost impossible task \u2013 to select 1,000 entrepreneurs, from the hundreds of thousands that apply. Our entrepreneurs are hungry to effect change. We know we are only scratching the surface, we see the depth of entrepreneurial talent, that all of us \u2013 government, business indeed African society, must harness to transform our economies and livelihoods. We must rally together to empower them and accelerate the change we want on the continent\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n In her speech, Her Excellency, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, the wife of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, commended the Programme\u2019s impact on the continent, charging the selected entrepreneurs to contribute to the advancement of the African continent.<\/span><\/p>\n