ADF STAFF
One thousand entrepreneurs representing 52 African countries are in the first class of winners of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program.
The winners were announced in March 2015. The selection committee was made up of some of Africa’s most successful business leaders. In all, 20,000 African entrepreneurs applied when the online application portal opened on January 1, 2015.
“Filling the form itself was an enlightening process that helped me see a lot of loopholes to eliminate from my business, and regardless of the outcome, I know that I am on track towards the achievement of my dream,” applicant Obewe N told Forbes magazine.
According to the selection committee, the winning business plans represented a multitude of sectors, including education, fashion, agriculture, and information and communications technology. Most of the winners came from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda.
The 1,000 selected entrepreneurs will receive online training through the remainder of 2015. They also were scheduled to participate in a two-day entrepreneurship boot camp.
The program is backed by a $100 million grant from the Tony Elumelu Foundation, a philanthropic organization that supports entrepreneurship in Africa. The foundation is solely funded by Elumelu, who made an estimated $1 billion from banking, energy, investments and real estate, according to Forbes’ ranking of Africa’s 50 Richest People.
One goal of the program is to create 10,000 startup companies across Africa in the next 10 years.
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