The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) unveiled its 12th cohort of African entrepreneurs in Abuja on Sunday, March 22, selecting 3,200 young business founders from all 54 countries on the continent and committing $16 million in seed capital for 2026.
Each selected entrepreneur will receive $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, access to business management training on TEFConnect, one-on-one mentorship, and entry into a network of investors, partners, and fellow entrepreneurs. The announcement was made at the Transcorp Hilton in Abuja, coinciding with Elumelu’s birthday, a date he has used in recent years to publish an annual letter on the state of African entrepreneurship.
The headline figure from this year’s selection is one of gender. Women account for 51 percent of the 2026 cohort, a result the Foundation stressed was driven entirely by merit and not by any quota. Writing in his annual letter, Elumelu said the outcome carried a broader message: when access to opportunity is equal, African women do not merely participate, they take the lead.
The 3,200 entrepreneurs will be funded in four cohorts: 1,951 in March, 100 in May, 100 in August, and 1,049 in November. The 2026 beneficiaries include 1,751 entrepreneurs supported through Heirs Holdings Group companies, 1,049 in partnership with the European Commission, the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), Germany’s BMZ and GIZ, and smaller cohorts backed by the IKEA Foundation, UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited, the Dutch Government, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
TEF Chief Executive Officer Somachi Chris-Asoluka described the programme as a platform for ambition, noting that 260,000 applications were received from across the continent before the final 3,200 were selected. She added that collectively, TEF-backed entrepreneurs have created 1.5 million jobs, generated $4.2 billion in revenue, and lifted 2.1 million Africans above the poverty line since the programme began.
Co-Founder Awele Elumelu called on partners to expand their support, noting that while 3,200 were selected, more than 260,000 applications represented visions for a better future that deserve backing.
The Foundation was established in 2010 and has invested over $100 million in seed capital to date.
