The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) is an African non-profit organization founded in 2010 by Tony O. Elumelu and headquartered in

Lagos, Nigeria Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

. It is a pioneer member of the Global Impact Investment Rating System (GIIRS).

History

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) was founded in 2010 by Nigerian businessman Tony O. Elumelu.

Programmes

* The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Forum: An annual conference designed to bring entrepreneurs across the continent together to network and share ideas, connect with private and public sector leaders in one location to tackle entrepreneurship challenges on the continent. The fifth edition held in

Abuja Abuja (; , ) is the capital city of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, strategically situated at the geographic midpoint of the country within the Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria), Federal Capital Territory (FCT). As the seat of the Federal G ...

, the Nigerian capital on 26&27 July 2019 and had in attendance Nigeria's vice president, Yemi Osinbajo; Nigeria's First lady,

Aisha Buhari Aisha Halilu Buhari (; born 17 February 1971) is a professional beauty therapist who served as the First Lady of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. Early life and family Aisha Halilu was born on 17 February 1971, in Adamawa State, northeastern Nigeria ...

; President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Felix Tshisekedi; President of

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

Paul Kagame Paul Kagame ( ; born 23 October 1957) is a Rwandan politician and former military officer who has been the President of Rwanda since 2000. He was previously a commander of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), a rebel armed force which invaded ...

;

Macky Sall Macky Sall (, , ; born 11 December 1961) is a Senegalese politician who served as the fourth president of Senegal from 2012 to 2024. He previously served as the eighth Prime Minister of Senegal, prime minister from 2004 to 2007, under President ...

, President of

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

; Ruhakana Rugunda, Prime Minister of Uganda; Director-General,

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

, Tedros Ghebreyesus; and President, African Development Bank, Akinwunmi Adesina, among others.

Past Activities

*The Mtanga Farms Investment: The Foundation's inaugural

impact investment Impact investing refers to investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is about an a ...

was in Mtanga Farms Limited, a mixed arable farming business operating in the Southern Tanzanian Highlands. *The Elumelu Legacy Prize: An award established by Tony O. and Dr. Awele Elumelu to recognize homegrown academic excellence in subject areas representing their career paths and fields of academic study. The awards were given to the overall best graduating students and best performing students in economics, Business Administration, and Medicine within top tertiary Institutions across Nigeria's six

geopolitical Geopolitics () is the study of the effects of Earth's geography on politics and international relations. Geopolitics usually refers to countries and relations between them, it may also focus on two other kinds of states: ''de facto'' independen ...

zones. It was also given to candidates who have excelled in training programmes from the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria. The annual Prize was designed to promote academic excellence and inspire the next generation of Nigerian leaders. *The Elumelu Professionals Programme (EPP) recruits experienced professionals graduating from prestigious Masters in Business Administration and Masters in Public Administration (or Public Policy) programmes to work in SME companies and public sector agencies. The recruits work on specific strategic projects over the course of a 10-week placement. Since 2011, the Foundation has placed over 85 professionals in more than 40 companies across seven countries in Africa. *The Blair Elumelu Fellowship Programme (BEFP) is a partnership between former British Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

's Africa Governance Initiative and TEF. It was scheduled to run for three years. Tony Blair's office has hailed it as "bringing together the best of innovative European government delivery models with the best of African private sector acumen and execution. " *The Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN) is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to increasing the effectiveness of

impact investing Impact investing refers to investments "made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate a measurable, beneficial social or environmental impact alongside a financial return". At its core, impact investing is about an a ...

. TEF is dedicated to impact investing and is a member of the GIIN Investor Council. *The Foundation's focus on research delivered

white papers A white paper is a report or guide that informs readers concisely about a complex issue and presents the issuing body's philosophy on the matter. It is meant to help readers understand an issue, solve a problem, or make a decision. Since the 199 ...

on different topics in 2012. Their founder, Tony O. Elumelu, contributed to the Nigerian Leadership Initiative's white paper in 2011. The GIIN published a case study in November 2011 on the Foundation's investment in Mtanga Farms *The Africapitalism Institute also released a comprehensive report on the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Africa, analysing challenges facing African entrepreneurs and their proposed solutions. Titled ''Unleashing Africa's Entrepreneurs: Improving the Enabling Environment for Start-ups'', it was first released to the public at a world-press conference on the sidelines of the 6th

Global Entrepreneurship Summit The Global Entrepreneurship Summit is an annual event organized by the federal government of the United States, in partnership with foreign government hosts. The summit originated from an event organized by the Obama Administration called the P ...

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

, Kenya on 25 July 2015. The data used was based on original research leveraging the Foundation's

pan-African Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

network of over 20,000 early stage African businesses. A leading light in African philanthropy, TEF has relationships with several other organisations around the world.

Global Entrepreneurship Summit, Kenya, 2015

During the Global Entrepreneurship Summit that was opened by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

, three Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs were part of the official GES programme and gave "Ignite talks" on their entrepreneurial journey to the global audience including President Obama and President Kenyatta of Kenya. Shadi Sabeh, CEO Brilliant Footsteps Academy, Nigeria; Tonee Ndungu, Founder, Kytabu, Kenya; and Jean Patrick Ehouman, co-founder and President, Akendewa in Côte d'Ivoire were the speakers representing their companies and are beneficiaries of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

World Economic Forum on Africa, Kigali, 2016

"Unleashing Africa's Agricultural Entrepreneurs", the Foundation's report on the potentials of agribusinesses in transforming the continent, was launched on the sidelines of the 26th

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

on Africa in

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

, Rwanda, 11–13 May 2016. Elumelu was also one of the co-chairs of the forum.

''Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs: Transforming Africa''

In June 2016, ''Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs: Transforming Africa,'' a 30-minute documentary film chronicling the story of the Foundation's Entrepreneurship Programme. The documentary has since premiered in different cities across the world from Paris"Nollywood gets Paris’ love"
''The Nation'', 7 June 2016. to St. Gallen,

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

and London.

References

External links

The Tony Elumelu Foundation
website
The National Competitiveness Council of Nigeria (NCCN)
website
''Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurs: Transforming Africa''
documentary film {{DEFAULTSORT:Tony Elumelu Foundation Non-profit organizations based in Lagos Organizations established in 2010 2010 establishments in Nigeria Entrepreneurship organizations