Tony Elumelu Foundation 2019 : Finalists List

The Tony Elumelu foundation 2019 finalists list has been unveiled.

Over 3,000 applicants were selected from 54 African countries for the 2019 cohort of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme out of the 216,000 submitted applications.

Some of the parameters used in selecting shortlisted applicants were explained in this video and  included :

• feasibility,
• market opportunity,
• scalability,
• leadership skill and
• viability of the idea.

You can download complete list pdf of successful applicants for TEF 2019.

Founder of TEF, Tony Elumelu stressed the importance of private sector in the development of Africa’s economy. He noted that the small and medium scale enterprises were main drivers of the economic transformation.

“No one but us will develop our continent. The private sector has a key role to play in doing this. It is not the big businesses that make the difference, but the SMEs are known for creating jobs, alleviating poverty, helping to bridge inequality gaps and who ensuring that our women were more economically involved.”

“It is in this realisation that the TEF decided that entrepreneurship is the most catalytic way of making little contributions to humanity.”

The event which took place in Abuja had in attendance the Wife of the President, Aisha Buhari, Wives of Governors of Kogi and Nasarawa State, and the founder, Tony Elumelu among others.