A total of 1,104 African entrepreneurs will each be receiving a $5,000 non-refundable grant from the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF). Among these beneficiaries, 27 are Ugandans, who were selected from over 150,000 applications received from all 54 countries in Africa.
The selected entrepreneurs, who form the 10th cohort, will also receive mentorship and training throughout the year to boost their businesses.
Speaking during the announcement on Friday, the founder of TEF, Tony Elumelu, noted that since the program was launched in 2015, it has empowered African entrepreneurs, driven poverty eradication, and catalyzed job creation across all 54 African countries.
“Till date, over 20,000 young men and women from across Africa have received over $100 million in support of their program. We are happy to see our young ones progressing,” said Elumelu, who is also the chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA) Group.
Speaking about the program from a Ugandan perspective, Hoziana Niyonsaba, the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at United Bank for Africa in Uganda, mentioned that since 2015 to date, 997 Ugandans have benefited from the Tony Elumelu Foundation. She stated that just this year, over 5,000 Ugandans submitted their applications.
“Today, 27 Ugandans have been announced as this year’s beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation seed capital. As UBA, it is key for us to follow up and ensure these Ugandans receive their money to support businesses and see how they will be performing,” Niyonsaba said, before stating that businesses of the previous winners are still performing well.
The President of TEF in Uganda, who is also one of the previous winners of the grant, Faith Kwera, spoke highly of the program, saying it boosted her company, Quera Tickets, a ticketing solutions company.
Kwera explained that it’s not just the $5,000 that helped her business grow, but also the mentorship and training in business management she received from TEF played a significant role in her company’s growth.