In a move to reaffirm his commitment to empowering African entrepreneurs, Chairman of Heirs Holdings, UBA Group and Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, has announced 3,200 beneficiaries for the 2026 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.

Tony Elumelu

The announcement, made in Abuja, coincides with the philanthropist’s annual reflection on impact, purpose, and the transformative power of entrepreneurship across the African continent.

In his annual letter, Elumelu emphasised that opportunity and prosperity can be intentionally created and scaled, saying, “Hope is not just a feeling, it is a system we can build”. This underscores his long-standing belief in Africapitalism, the philosophy that Africa’s private sector must drive economic and social development.

This year’s cohort of 3,200 young entrepreneurs, selected from across all 54 African countries, will each receive $5,000 in non-refundable seed capital, alongside access to mentorship, business training, and TEF’s proprietary digital platform, TEFConnect.

Highlighting the programme’s growing impact, Elumelu noted that the Foundation has now disbursed over $100 million in funding to more than 24,000 African entrepreneurs since its inception. The programme continues to demonstrate strong outcomes, with 80 per cent of supported businesses scaling beyond the early stage, significantly outperforming global averages.

Collectively, TEF-supported entrepreneurs have generated over $4.2 billion in revenue, created 1.5 million jobs, and lifted more than 2.1 million Africans out of poverty, impacting over four million households across the continent.

A notable feature of this year’s selection is the strong representation of women, who account for 51 per cent of the cohort. According to Elumelu, this reflects merit-based selection and highlights the increasing leadership of African women in entrepreneurship. “When opportunity is accessible, African women do not simply participate, they lead.”

Reflecting on the Foundation’s journey since its launch in 2010, Elumelu reiterated the vision to democratise opportunity and scale impact across Africa by investing in its most valuable resource, which is its people. He also expressed gratitude to partners, mentors, and stakeholders who continue to support the Foundation’s mission of building a self-sustaining Africa.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation is the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries. Through its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme, TEF provides training, mentorship, funding, and access to networks, driving inclusive economic growth and transforming Africa’s development narrative from aid to investment and partnership.

Entrepreneurs backed by the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) have generated more than $4.2 billion in cumulative revenue since the organisation began its grant programme in 2015, according to Somachi Chris-Asoluka, chief executive officer of the foundation.

Chris-Asoluka, revealed this during a virtual media briefing, where she also stated that over $100 million has been distributed to nearly 24,000 young entrepreneurs across Africa.

She noted that the beneficiaries of the programme have gone on to create about 1.5 million jobs, both directly and indirectly, across various sectors of the continent’s economy.

The performance, she said, has strengthened the resolve of the foundation and its partners to scale up financial support for emerging businesses.

Chris-Asoluka emphasised that the foundation’s interventions are anchored on the conviction that entrepreneurship is central to reducing poverty and reshaping Africa’s economic future.

She explained that selected participants receive a $5,000 seed capital grant, in addition to structured business training and mentorship designed to help them either expand existing enterprises or establish new ones.

Highlighting operational challenges faced by entrepreneurs, she identified inadequate electricity supply as a major constraint.

According to her, many small businesses spend as much as 60 per cent of their earnings on alternative power solutions, including generators and inverters.

To mitigate this challenge, she disclosed that Tony Elumelu, TEF founder, alongside the foundation’s leadership, has been engaging governments across Africa on the urgent need to improve power infrastructure.

She further stated that investments by programme beneficiaries cut across critical sectors such as agriculture, artificial intelligence, manufacturing, and technology innovation.

Chris-Asoluka also announced that the foundation’s 2026 cohort of entrepreneurs will be formally unveiled by Elumelu in Abuja.

A new financial operations platform, Morney, has officially launched in Nigeria to help businesses face growing pressure to digitise their finance processes as the country’s shift towards electronic invoicing.

Developed by Morzoe Technologies Inc. and introduced locally through its partner, BuySimply Services Limited, the platform is designed to help organisations streamline and automate financial workflows.

Speaking at the launch, Head of Growth at BuySimply, ‘Mide Olubi, said many Nigerian organisations still depend on fragmented systems such as emails and spreadsheets to manage expenses, supplier invoices and payments.

According to him, this approach often results in inefficiencies, delayed processes, weak oversight and a higher risk of errors.

He noted that Nigeria’s increasing adoption of electronic invoicing and tax digitisation frameworks is accelerating the need for structured and transparent financial systems. Businesses, he said, must move away from manual processes and adopt platforms that provide clear visibility into financial operations.

Morney integrates payments, procurement, expenses and invoicing into a single system, enabling finance teams to automate approvals, monitor transactions in real time and maintain accurate records.

The platform also supports supplier onboarding and invoice processing, helping organisations better manage operational spending.

The company revealed that businesses across sectors such as FMCG, manufacturing, energy, banking and telecommunications are already adopting the solution to improve efficiency and strengthen financial control.

It added that the partnership with BuySimply reflects a broader trend of digital transformation, as organisations respond to evolving regulatory requirements and the demand for more efficient financial management systems.