The Tony Elumelu Foundation announces 2026 cohort of 3,200 African entrepreneurs, including Mozambique

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Africa’s leading philanthropy empowering entrepreneurs, announced 3,200 young African entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries, including Mozambique, for the 2026 cycle of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programmes; driving poverty alleviation, catalysing job creation, and ensuring inclusive economic empowerment. {To see the full list, please clickhere} With this latest announcement, TEF has now funded, trained and mentored over 27,000 African entrepreneurs, reinforcing its position as the largest private-sector driver of entrepreneurship in Africa. This underpins TEF’s stance on Africapitalism; Tony Elumelu’s economic belief that African entrepreneurs are the key drivers of the continent’s socio-economic transformation.

The 2026 cohort reflects the diversity, ambition, and resilience of Africa’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, with 51% women, 75% aged 18–35, reinforcing youth-driven economic transformation, 30% from rural communities, expanding access beyond urban centres, and 13 selected entrepreneurs reported to be thriving with disabilities. The 2026 Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs’ businesses span sectors including agriculture, AI, green economy, healthcare, and fintech. Crucially, 91% of selected entrepreneurs are at idea or early-stage, underscoring TEF’s role as a true last-mile enabler of opportunity.

From left to right: Somachi Chris-Asoluka, CEO, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Dr Awele V. Elumelu, OFR, Co-Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation.

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[Photo: Tony Elumelu Foundation] The announcement, held at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja and broadcast globally, marks the 2026 cycle of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, with entrepreneurs selected from over 265,000 applications, one of the largest entrepreneurial selections on the continent. The 2026 applications successfully submitted on TEFConnect, TEF’s proprietary digital platform, were subject to TEF’s rigorous and highly competitive selection process, where applicants were assessed on their demonstrated financial understanding and entrepreneurial mindset, as well as the feasibility, demand and scalability of their business ideas. This year’s cohort reflects the depth of entrepreneurial talent across the continent, with strong representation across key sectors including agriculture, artificial intelligence, healthcare, and the green economy.

The selection process was conducted by Ernst & Young, to ensure independent assessment. Each selected Tony Elumelu Entrepreneur will receive $5,000 non-refundable seed capital, a world-class business training on TEFConnect, one-on-one mentorship, and access to global networks and investment opportunities. From left to right: Oge Elumelu, daughter of the Founder and Co-Founder, Tony Elumelu Foundation; Tony O.

[Photo: Tony Elumelu Foundation] Speaking at the announcement, Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder of TEF and Group Chairman of Heirs Holdings said, “What we do is about democratising luck and spreading prosperity, because everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed. I believe that no one but us will develop Africa.

I also believe that the future of our continent is in the hands of our youth. What we do at the Tony Elumelu Foundation is not because we have so much to spread, but because we see it as self-enlightened interest to make sure that everyone is given the opportunity to succeed. Because poverty, anywhere, is a threat to all of us everywhere.

So the more prosperity we spread and we share, the more young Africans will mobilise, realising that one person alone cannot change Africa. To our 2026 Tony Elumelu Foundation beneficiaries, I say congratulations. Your success will make the difference.”

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