The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) has partnered Google to launch a programme to support African entrepreneurs.
The inaugural Google.org Fellowship programme will provide one million more Africans with access to TEFConnect.
TEF has made it a mandate to empower young African entrepreneurs from 54 African countries in the continent and here is what you should know.
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What You should know:
This is the first time Google.org is launching this type of fellowship in Africa.
It is a US$ 100m initiative and over 15,000 African entrepreneurs have benefited from the programme.
It will provide thousands of African businesses with the opportunities to thrive in the continent’s digital economy.
Consequently, the foundation helps in the economic growth of African countries.
IT also helps in eradication poverty as well as creating jobs for the unemployed Africans.
TEF has disbursed over $85 million in seed capital to date to support small business growth across Africa.
TEF provides businesses with skills such as software engineering, UI/UX design skills, policy making.
Meanwhile, to further build an upgrade of the TEFConnect platform, the Foundation has engaged about nine full-time Google employees, among whom are software engineers, UI/UX researchers, and policy experts.
Also, at TEFConnect, entrepreneurs will get to connect with investors, get special tools and market partnerships, as well as have access to coaches who will help their businesses.
Recall that Google had initially launched a $3 million grant to support the 2021 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
It empowered over 500 African women to start and scale their businesses.
Co-Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Dr. Awele V. Elumelu said of the programme thus:
“We are pleased to continue to share our unique ability and platform to identify, train, mentor and fund young entrepreneurs across Africa with like-minded institutions like Google.org who share in our commitment to empower young African entrepreneurs.
“It will be exciting to see the ways in which the refreshed TEFConnect platform will continue to provide a space for growth, personal development, and meaningful exchange for African entrepreneurs. In line with our founding philosophy of Africapitalism, we believe that entrepreneurs are the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent.”
Jen Carter, global head of technology at Google.org, commented on this exciting partnership, “We are delighted to kick off our first Google.org Fellowship in Africa. The Tony Elumelu Foundation does so much to empower African entrepreneurs, and we are thrilled to be able to lend the expertise of Googlers to expand the reach of the TEFConnect platform to an additional 1 million entrepreneurs.”
“Google’s commitment in Africa has progressed from sponsoring projects to collaborative partnerships with established African organisations like the Tony Elumelu Foundation, dedicated to developing young African talent. As Africa’s digital economy grows, African entrepreneurs are in a prime position to establish a powerful digital footprint, and this fellowship is one step closer to transforming the landscape” she added.
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