Tony Elumelu Foundation to Launch Digital Entrepreneurship Platform

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, TEF, is set to launch its TEFConnect, a digital platform dedicated to connecting African entrepreneurs and the entrepreneurship ecosystem on October 25, 2018 in Lagos.

The platform is expected to drive contents on business information and opportunities across Africa for enterprising young people.

The launch would be coming along with the fourth edition of the annual TEF Entrepreneurship Forum.

The gathering is expected to bring together over 5,000 entrepreneurs, global investors, leaders from African public and private sectors as well as developmental organisations at the Federal Palace Hotel, Lagos.

The event offers a unique opportunity to generate ideas, forge networks and bring policymakers and the private sector together, in a spirit of robust debate and interaction.

The Forum will include an interactive session with President Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya and President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, moderated by TEF Founder, Tony O. Elumelu.

The programme is a 10-year, $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor, and fund 10,000 young African entrepreneurs.

In a remark, TEF founder, Tony Elumelu, stated: “In just four years, we have directly impacted 4,460 entrepreneurs, and we are beginning to see the results – job creation, ripple effects, but most importantly recognition that Africa’s economic well-being is driven by entrepreneurs – female and male, large and small – they are the engine of our continent’s transformation. We will be championing and celebrating them. This year, we are truly achieving scale and impact; we received over 150,000 applications in 2017 alone, up from 20,000 applications in 2015. We are now calling on the current generation of African success stories and others to partner with us to see how we can all further create impact, genuinely transform millions of lives and increase the number of inspiring stories we will be hearing in Lagos.”

Also speaking on the event, TEF CEO, Parminder Vir said: “The TEF Entrepreneurship Forum is the only event across the continent that brings together the complete African entrepreneurship ecosystem, demonstrating our commitment to capturing the whole continuum – from the entrepreneurs themselves, governments who must provide enabling environments, to capital, advice and perhaps most importantly access and network”.