# The Tony Elumelu Foundation

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is an African philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs founded in 2010 by Tony O. Elumelu, CFR and headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. It is a pioneer member of the Global Impact Investment Rating System (GIIRS). Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has empowered over 20,000 young African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries.

## History

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) was founded in 2010 by African entrepreneur and philanthropist Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, and his wife, Dr. Awele V. Elumelu, O.F.R.q, as an extension of their unwavering belief in the youth as catalysts for Africa's transformation. The Tony Elumelu Foundation, the leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, has become the hallmark for Africa's sustainable development through jobs creation, poverty eradication and inclusive economic empowerment..
The Tony Elumelu Foundation's mission is rooted in Africapitalism, which posits the private sector, and most importantly entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent..
In 2015, TEF consolidated its various programmes and initiatives and made investing in Africa's next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders a priority. The future of the Tony Elumelu Foundation centres on the provision of structured, robust, and multifaceted support to young men and women entrepreneurs across Africa through the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme; a 10-year US$100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor and fund 10,000 young African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries.
Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has provided over 1.5 million young Africans with access to trainings on www.tefconnect.com, Africa's largest digital entrepreneurship ecosystem, and disbursed US$100 million in direct funding to over 20,000 African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.

## Programmes: 2015 to date
### The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Entrepreneurship Programme

The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, the foundation's flagship programme is designed to train, fund, mentor and provide networking opportunities to the next generation of African entrepreneurs who are designing and delivering innovative and creative solutions addressing Africa’s most pressing challenges; African solutions designed for Africans by Africans.

### The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Forum

An annual conference designed to bring entrepreneurs across the continent together to network, share ideas, and connect with private and public sector leaders in one location to tackle entrepreneurship challenges on the continent.
The fifth edition held in Abuja, the Nigerian capital on 26&27 July 2019 and had in attendance Nigeria's vice president, Yemi Osinbajo; Nigeria's First lady, Aisha Buhari; President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi; President of Rwanda Paul Kagame; Macky Sall, President of Senegal; Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister of Uganda; Director-General, World Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus; and President, African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina, among others.

## Past Activities

* The Charities Act Initiative (2010): When the Tony Elumelu Foundation launched in 2010, Africa's philanthropic sector lacked robust regulatory frameworks, particularly in Nigeria. This fragmentation and absence of standardised oversight limited charitable organisations' effectiveness, transparency, and ability to create lasting impact. Recognising this critical gap, TEF pioneered the development of Nigeria's first Charities Act, aiming to transform how philanthropic organisations operate and are governed across the country.
* Ikoyi Initiative (2011) : In 2011, the Foundation partnered with the World Bank to convene philanthropic organisations from Ghana, South Africa, Kenya and other African countries in Lagos, at the Ikoyi Initiative.
* Nigeria Philanthropy Summit (2013): Early on, the Foundation identified a need to engage current and emerging philanthropists on the heightened impact of catalytic philanthropy. To this end, the Foundation partnered with the then Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to establish the Nigeria Philanthropy Summit, which created a platform of engagement through which high net-worth individuals, corporate philanthropy professionals and representatives of government institutions could network and collaborate in the field of philanthropy..
* The Mtanga Farms Investment: The Foundation's inaugural impact investment was in Mtanga Farms Limited, a mixed arable farming business operating in the Southern Tanzanian Highlands.
* African Exchange Holdings Ltd (2011): The Foundation’s second impact investment was made as part of an international consortium with Heirs Holdings, Berggruen Holdings and 50 Ventures Inc, when African Exchange Holdings Ltd (AFEX) was incorporated, a network of commodities and derivatives exchanges. These AFEX exchanges, located in East Africa and Nigeria, incentivise smallholders to produce more since they are guaranteed a ready market price point and warehousing facilities, greatly reducing post-harvest losses and quick sale pressure. .
* The Elumelu Legacy Prize: An award established by Tony O. and Dr. Awele Elumelu to recognize homegrown academic excellence in subject areas representing their career paths and fields of academic study. The awards were given to the overall best graduating students and best performing students in economics, Business Administration, and Medicine within top tertiary Institutions across Nigeria's six geopolitical zones. It was also given to candidates who have excelled in training programmes from the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. The annual Prize was designed to promote academic excellence and inspire the next generation of Nigerian leaders.
* The Elumelu Professionals Programme (EPP) recruits experienced professionals graduating from prestigious Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Public Administration (or Public Policy) programmes to work in SME companies and public sector agencies. The recruits work on specific strategic projects over the course of a 10-week placement. Since 2011, the Foundation has placed over 85 professionals in more than 40 companies across seven countries in Africa.
* The Blair Elumelu Fellowship Programme (BEFP) is a partnership between former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Africa Governance Initiative and TEF. It was scheduled to run for three years. Tony Blair's office has hailed it as "bringing together the best of innovative European government delivery models with the best of African private sector acumen and execution. "
* The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of impact investing. TEF is dedicated to impact investing and is a member of the GIIN Investor Council.
* The Foundation's focus on research delivered white papers on different topics in 2012. Their founder, Tony O. Elumelu, contributed to the Nigerian Leadership Initiative's white paper in 2011. The GIIN published a case study in November 2011 on the Foundation's investment in Mtanga Farms
* Impact Economy Innovations Fund (2013): Launched in April 2013 at the Africa Impact Investing Forum supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Tony Elumelu Foundation, IEIF provides grant capital for entrepreneurs with projects that create jobs in underserved sectors, and supports proposals geared toward enabling capital solutions, fostering entrepreneurial ecosystems and promoting impact investing industry infrastructure. Funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the winners were selected from a highly competitive pool of hundreds of applicants from across Africa, and represented several sectors across the continent including Finance, Agriculture, Policy & Research and Information Technology.
* The Africapitalism Institute also released a comprehensive report on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa, analysing challenges facing African entrepreneurs and their proposed solutions. Titled Unleashing Africa's Entrepreneurs: Improving the Enabling Environment for Start-ups, it was first released to the public at a world-press conference on the sidelines of the 6th Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, Kenya on 25 July 2015. The data used was based on original research leveraging the Foundation's pan-African network of over 20,000 early stage African businesses.
* Early-Stage Innovation Support: TEF-CcHub Partnership (2012): To test its impact on early stage businesses, in 2012, the Tony Elumelu Foundation partnered with the Co-Creation Hub, a pre-incubation centre that invests in social technology ventures in the heart of Lagos, to provide managed seed funding of $5,000 to 20 technological ideas emerging from their lab. The seed funding supported experimentation and prototype development in order to accelerate the adoption of those tech entrepreneurial solutions, in areas such as healthcare, education, agriculture, governance, small business development and finance.
* National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN): Driving Economic Growth through Enhanced Competitiveness (2013): In 2013, the Tony Elumelu Foundation initiated a groundbreaking public-private partnership with Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Trade and Industry, establishing the National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN). This strategic initiative aimed to enhance Nigeria's global competitiveness and attract both domestic and international investment through improved business environment metrics.
* NIGERIA 50 (2013): In 2013, the Tony Elumelu Foundation partnered with the AllWorld Network in a pioneering effort to promote some of the fastest-growing, unlisted private companies in Nigeria: the Nigeria Fast Growth 50, or Nigeria50. On the strength of an astounding annual growth rate of 100 per cent, these companies were already highly functional, and many were on their way to profitability. This partnership with AllWorld, which ranks the 500 fastest-growing private companies in Asia, Latin America, Africa and the Middle East, helped to attract more new investors, customers, growth partners and talent for the Nigeria50 through visibility economics, i.e., showcasing their efforts and results on an international scale. To codify the lessons and successes of the Nigeria50 and further ensure their relevance beyond the launch, the Foundation commissioned and published The Success Factor, a collection of biographies detailing the careers of each company’s CEO or founder and enumerating the steps each took to build his or her company to its current stage.
A leading light in African philanthropy, TEF has relationships with several other organisations around the world.The Foundations robust reach of entrepreneurs across geographies and sectors has enabled it to conduct innovative partnerships with the European Union (EU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the US Government via the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the French Development Agency (AFD), the German Development Finance Institution (DEG), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the African Development Bank (AfDB), and Google, with bespoke programmes including targeting female empowerment and growth in fragile states.

## Global Entrepreneurship Summit, Kenya, 2015

During the Global Entrepreneurship Summit that was opened by President Barack Obama, three Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs were part of the official GES programme and gave "Ignite talks" on their entrepreneurial journey to the global audience including President Obama and President Kenyatta of Kenya. Shadi Sabeh, CEO Brilliant Footsteps Academy, Nigeria; Tonee Ndungu, Founder, Kytabu, Kenya; and Jean Patrick Ehouman, co-founder and President, Akendewa in Côte d'Ivoire were the speakers representing their companies and are beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

## World Economic Forum on Africa, Kigali, 2016

"Unleashing Africa's Agricultural Entrepreneurs", the Foundation's report on the potentials of agribusinesses in transforming the continent, was launched on the sidelines of the 26th World Economic Forum on Africa in Kigali, Rwanda, 11–13 May 2016. Elumelu was also one of the co-chairs of the forum.

## Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs: Transforming Africa

In June 2016, the Tony Elumelu Foundation produced a 30-minute documentary film chronicling the story of the Foundation's Entrepreneurship Programme, titled Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs: Transforming Africa,. The documentary has since premiered in different cities across the world from Paris to St. Gallen, Kigali, Lagos and London.

## Case Studies & Impact Reports

* In 2015, the Tony Elumelu Foundation published key research reports from the first year of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, including "Unleashing Africa’s Entrepreneurs: Improving the Enabling Environment for Start-ups"
* In 2016, the Tony Elumelu Foundation launched a key research report, "Unleashing Africa’s Agricultural Entrepreneurs" at WEF Africa, Kigali, showcasing research with 304 TEF agricultural entrepreneurs.
* In 2017, the University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business Bertha Centre for Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship launched a case study on the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, "A Case Study of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme"
* In 2020, the Tony Elumelu Foundation partnered with Stanford University to launch a research report on African entrepreneurship titled "Entrepreneurial Cognition, Mindset and Selection: Developing the Talent of African Entrepreneurs".
* Also in 2020, the French Institute for Research in Africa, Nigeria (IFRA-Nigeria) together with the Tony Elumelu Foundation and the French Development Agency (AFD) produced a research report titled "Supporting Entrepreneurship in Africa" which studied the impact of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme on beneficiaries in four African countries: Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroun and Côte d’Ivoire
* In 2023, the University of Cambridge Judge Business School’s Center for Strategic Philanthropy (CSP) released a case study on the impact of the Tony Elumelu Foundation titled "Philanthropy for Entrepreneurs: Democratising Luck Across the African Continent".
* WINGS released a case study on the Tony Elumelu Foundation and its impact on African entrepreneurs titled "Philanthropy Transformation Initiative Case Study."
* The Tony Elumelu Foundation launched its independent TEF Impact Report, covering the impact of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme from 2015 till 2020, at the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA78), at a side event co-hosted by TEF and its partners, UNDP and UNICEF.
* In 2024, Harvard Business School released a first-of-its-kind case study on African philanthropies, highlighting the role and impact of TEF, and its unique approach to catalysing entrepreneurship in Africa titled "Tony Elumelu Foundation: Democratizing Luck Across Africa".