The Tony Elumelu Foundation will on Sunday, March 22, 2026, announce beneficiaries of the 12th edition of its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme, following a surge in applications from across Africa.
In a statement released on Friday, the foundation disclosed that it received more than 265,000 applications from entrepreneurs across all 54 African countries, highlighting growing interest in business opportunities, particularly in sectors such as artificial intelligence, agriculture and the green economy.
The announcement of successful applicants is scheduled to take place virtually at 2:00 p.m. West African Time.
According to the foundation, a total of $16 million in seed funding will be disbursed to 3,200 selected entrepreneurs in the 2026 cohort. Each beneficiary will receive $5,000 in non-refundable capital, alongside business training and mentorship support.
The programme is being implemented in collaboration with partners including Heirs Holdings, European Commission, IKEA Foundation, UNICEF, and the United Nations Development Programme.
The foundation added that the selection process was independently audited by Ernst & Young to ensure transparency.
It noted that since inception, the programme has built a network of about 24,000 entrepreneurs across the continent, who have collectively generated $4.2 billion in revenue and created approximately 1.5 million jobs.
Founder of the foundation, Tony O. Elumelu, reiterated the importance of supporting entrepreneurs as a pathway to Africa’s economic growth, stressing that empowering local businesses remains key to achieving long-term economic independence on the continent.
