Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme – To create 10,000 African Entrepreneurs in 10 Years | Apply Now!

PHILOSOPHY

The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is the flagship entrepreneurship programme of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, founded by the entrepreneur, respected investor and philanthropist Tony O. Elumelu.

The pan-African programme is inspired by the Founder’s:

Inclusive economic philosophy of Africapitalism, based on the belief that a vibrant African-led private sector is the key to unlocking Africa’s economic and social potential,
Commitment to drive African economic growth through the fostering of African entrepreneurship,
Mission to institutionalise luck and create an environment where home-grown pan-African companies in various sectors can flourish.

VISION

Our vision is to establish the pre-eminent pan-African entrepreneurship programme and create 10,000 startups across Africa within the next 10 years that generate significant employment and wealth.

PURPOSE

Identify 10,000 African startups and African entrepreneurs with ideas that have the potential to succeed

Grow the businesses through business skills training, mentoring, access to seed capital funding, information and membership in our Africa-wide alumni network

Create businesses that can generate at least 1,000,000 new jobs and contribute at least $10 billion in revenues across Africa over 10 years.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme is a tool for implementing this vision. The programme is open to young compelling businesses with strong market feasibility, clear financial models and run by capable teams.

Selection into the programme will be a thorough process with no quotas of any kind to simply identify the game changers in the continent. The programme will support selected Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurs through the 7 Pillars of TEEP, a framework that includes mentorship, online and live learning, as well as access to information, networking and seed capital.

The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme: APPLICATION FORM GUIDE

SECTION 1: PERSONAL INFORMATION

This section asks about key personal information such as your name, date of birth and language proficiency. Please fill in the questions accurately, and where possible use your official government name (e.g. on your passport). This will ensure your information remains accurate, and can be utilised for registration to attend the Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum (if selected). You must also upload a form of official identification (e.g. passport, driver’s licence) for our due diligence purposes.

SECTION 2: CONTACT DETAILS (MANDATORY)

This section requires you to fill in your personal contact details such as home address, email address and phone numbers. It is important to be as accurate as possible, as addresses will be verified; your email address and phone number will be used as the primary and secondary mode of communication with you. If this information is inaccurate, it may mean that you will not receive essential information. One of the eligibility criteria is for applicants to be resident in Africa. NonAfrican addresses will be considered ineligible.

SECTION 4: SOCIAL MEDIA

Your social media accounts will be used for engagement with the Tony Elumelu Foundation where applicable.

SECTION 5: BUSINESS PROFILE

This section requires you to detail information about your business or idea. While your business may not yet be operational and you may not have registered a name or address, it is important to fill in this information, which selected applicants may change once official paperwork has been completed.

Question guide:

Q17. E.g. you may speak of a personal experience, an issue you faced which led to your decision.

Q18. E.g. you may speak about an incident/position of leadership you held in a previous job.

Q19. E.g. you may speak about an innovation you created, or goal you attained.

Q20. E.g. focus on the core aspects of your business idea – what you are making/selling; who it benefits.

Q21. E.g. expand on Q20. And give more detail.

Q22. E.g. What is new, exciting, innovative, different, uncommon, about your business/idea. How does it solve existing problems in a new way?

Q23. Why do people need the product or service you are providing?

Q24. What is your business stage?

IDEA – your business is still a concept, and you have not begun operating

Research & development – you have begun to conduct research into best practices, and may have begun minor operations

MARKET ENTRY – you have successfully entered the market and begun operations on a small scale.

GROWTH – at this stage, your consumer demand is established and increases.

Q25. Please select the ONE industry (and sub-sector) that most closely captures your idea, e.g. Agriculture – Animal husbandry. Please ensure you give enough detail while sticking to the word limit.

SECTION 6: COMPANY STRUCTURE

This section asks about the formal structure of your company, and majority of the questions are for those who have officially registered. It also asks about your role/position in the company, and how many staff you currently have working for you (full and part-time).

SECTION 7: MARKET POTENTIAL

This section focuses on the market/demand that exists for your product/service.

Question guide:

Q34. How many people have a need/want for what you are selling?

Q35. What will you have to do to earn an income from your business?

Q36. How do you find/target/engage potential customers for your product/service? How do you achieve sales? How do you spread the word about your business?

Q37. Who do you compare your business/idea with? Who owns the market share already? Who will you be/are you competing with directly? Who is already doing what you plan to do?

Q38. Of those you mentioned in Q37. How is your product/service different? Better? Bigger? More innovative? More targeted? More consumer friendly?

Q39. What is your short-term goal for your business? What are you planning to accomplish/achieve within the next 6months-1 year?

Q40. Following from Q39. Once you have achieved the short-term goal, what will your next big achievement be?

SECTION 8: FINANCIALS (if not applicable, please enter 0)

This section is to test your financial understanding of your current/target market, and how well your business is doing/will do. It is important to do thorough research (for idea stage) or to be totally honest (for those already in operation), as Financial Knowledge is not only a deciding factor, but a crucial element of the 12-week training. Many questions relate to those who have begun operations, therefore those with idea stage businesses will answer $0 for some questions.

Q41. How much have you spent in starting/running your business since inception? This includes personal money utilised, loans, grants and other money put into developing the company.

Q42. How much money do you spend to cover operational/fixed costs each month? E.g. rent, raw materials, salaries, etc.

Q43. How much money have you made from sales since you began operations?

Q44. How much money will you need to make in order for …

Q45. BER in sales dollars can be calculated by dividing your company’s fixed expenses by the company’s contribution margin ratio

SECTION 9: BUSINESS IMPACT

Q46. Describe the social benefits your company will provide, in addition to the revenue you plan to make.

Q47. List the 3 most difficult aspects/problems in running your business

Q48. What benefits will you get from this programme?

Q49. Select an area where you need more training/development

SECTION 10: ATTESTATIONS

This section asks about how you got to know about the programme, your ability to dedicate time to completing it, any past experience on similar programmes, as well as two references who will be contacted to vouch for you.

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