The 9TH Edition of the Toney Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Program (2023)

Introduction

The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is a 100million dollar commitment made by the Toney Elumelu family with the aim to empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs over a 10-year period through the following activities;

• Training 
• Mentorship 
• Funding 

The Goal

The goal is to create at least 1million jobs and contribute over $10billion in revenue to the African economy.  

By means of its Entrepreneurship Programme, the Foundation empowers African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries. The TEF training curriculum has been structured to differentiate applicants based on the qualifications below;

• Capability for entrepreneurial functions/exercise
• Level of knowledge displayed in the structuring of your idea

The training has been designed to educate and  enrich its applicants in starting or growing Their business to scale-through the stumbling blocks encountered by Business startups across the African continent. The curriculum concentrates more on the following 

• Practical trainings where useful business materials (eg: book keeping document) will be sent to applicants via registered email
• Iterative learning that is useful even long after the training period.  

 NOTE: The training programme is the first and important aspect of the competition, those who did not follow through with all the online practical classes/trainings will be disqualified from the completion and not allowed moving forward to the submission and review of business plan, participation in the pitching competition, and receipt of seed capital. 

 

The Application form

The application form is made up of four parts: 

1. Personal Information 
2. Commercial information 
3. Cognitive assessment 
4. Declaration section 

To ensure a transparent application process, all applicants will need to have a valid government issued ID and indicate their name on the application form on TEFConnect exactly as it appears on the ID card. 

 

All Applicants Will Be Required To:  

1. Complete all mandatory fields in the online application form on TEFConnect. 
2. Submit the form 
3. Attach all the requested documents (valid identity card and photo headshot) and upload the required documents 
4. Expect Foundation comments that either moves you to the next stage in the competition. 

Stages of the Programme

The Entrepreneurship Programme identifies outstanding African entrepreneurs who have start-ups or business ideas with the potential to grow.  The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme will be delivered in different phases as listed below: 

1. Application Stage: applicant are who are interested, having confirmed that they meet all the criteria can click here to start their registration.
2. Training &Mentorship Stage: this takes place for a period of 12weeks (3months). It is a life changing business meeting with professionals. 
3. Business Plan Submission Stage: This stage is meant for those shortlisted by the foundation for successfully completing stage2 (The training and mentorship stage)
4. Pitching Stage: Also, those shortlisted from stage3 enters here to submit their business pitch
5. Seed Capital Stage: All those who passed the pitching stage will given the non-refundable 5,000 dollar by the foundation 

The TEF Application Stage

This will take place from the January 1 to March 31. Once applications are closed, eligible applicants will be given access to our World Class Business Training Programme.

The applicants who are not eligible will be placed in the Preparatory Category. This means you do not have the skillset needed to start a business. You will go through the general training on TEFConnect. You will, however, not be eligible for mentorship or seed capital. 

 

The TEF Business Management Programme 

This means that you are scaled through the application process and will go through the TEF Business Management Training modules, and you will have access to world class Mentors and Coaches during the programme.  

 

The TEF training and Mentorship: 

Once shortlisted and placed in the appropriate training path, you will be eligible to take part in our rigorous business training and mentoring sessions. There will be multiple-choice questions to track your performance. You will attend a virtual orientation program to learn more about the process and we will share timelines and resources available for you to succeed. The shortlisted entrepreneurs will be given access to join peer-to-peer support groups. 

• Shortlisted entrepreneurs will be expected to complete the business training, and answer the quiz at the end of each module. 
• The shortlisted applicants after the training will be given the opportunity to develop a BUSINESS PLAN 

The TEF Business Plan and Financial Submission Stage 

At the end of the training, you will be required to combine all the learnings from the training into a single cohesive document. You will be given a business & financial plan template; this will be in the online resource library. This template will help you create a first draft of your business plan. 

write a business plan. After the BUSINESS TRAINING & BUSINESS PLAN SUBMISSION, only successful candidates (who complete the MCQs, and score above cut off mark and submit a business plan) would be eligible to move on to the next stage: the PITCHING COMPETITION. 

 

 The TEF Business Pitching Phase: 

 This is an opportunity to demonstrate your business knowledge and convince the judge about the feasibility of your business. At the pitching stage, entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas before a panel of judges. Only the successful candidates from the pitching competition will receive seed capital funding and access to the Alumni network to support their business ambitions. 

 If you successfully completed all required training requirements and submitted a business plan, but was unsuccessful after the pitching competition, you will receive a training completion certificate and can reapply next year. 

 Please note that this phase is another key outcome of this training programme, and all shortlisted entrepreneurs must go through this phase to be eligible for SEED CAPITAL.

 

The TEF Seed Capital Stage

 All entrepreneurs who have successfully completed all the above steps will be required to open business accounts and seed capital will flow into these accounts created. An entrepreneur who is eligible to receive seed funding will be given a CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION AND ACHIEVEMENT from the Foundation.

We are here to help you win, Yes! you can if you ask question. Drop your questions in the comment box bellow.