Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme

The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) is an entrepreneurial initiative run by the Tony Elumelu Foundation, based in Nigeria, spanning across Africa. The programme’s founder is billionaire businessman and philanthropist, Tony O. Elumelu CON and the CEO of the Tony Elumelu Foundation is Parminder Vir, OBE.

The programme gives training, mentorship and seed capital to entrepreneurs with start-up business ideas they want to execute in Africa. By doing so, TEEP embodies Africapitalism, the economic philosophy that Elumelu coined. It is currently in the second cycle, with the application portal closing on March 1, 2016 and names of the selectees announced twenty-one days later on March 22, 2016.

TEEP was unveiled on 1 December 2014 in Lagos, Nigeria, one month ahead of the portal opening for applicants on 1 January 2015. During the unveiling press conference, founder Tony O. Elumelu, CON, made a $100 million commitment to the programme which will run every year for a 10-year duration.

In the January 2015 edition of The Economist magazine, Tony Elumelu predicted, “In 2015, the African entrepreneur will explode on to the global stage, as a new generation shows the world what those of us doing business in Africa have long known: that our continent is home to some of the most exciting and innovative entrepreneurial talent.”

The TEEP portal was open to applicants for 8 weeks and received over 20,000 applications. On 23 March 2015, the selection of 1,000 entrepreneurs accepted into the 2015 cycle was announced. Selectees of the programme originate from every African region, with the highest number of applicants being from Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon, Tanzania, Côte d'Ivoire, Zambia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, Benin, Ethiopia, Burundi and DR Congo. Sectors represented include Agriculture, Information and Communications Technology (ICT), education, finance and fashion.

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