Anyone who has ever ventured into business knows that an idea is simply not enough to succeed. Once the idea has been conceptualized it almost always gets harder for before it gets easier. So much so that 95% of entrepreneurs in Nigeria are unable to survive in their first three years. The Tony Elumelu Foundation through their Entrepreneurship Program (TEEP) is committed to change these calamitous statistics; not only in Nigeria, but in Africa. It only makes sense seeing that entrepreneurs are the driving force behind Africa rising; they hold the keys to our future. The foundation aims to promote excellence in business leadership and entrepreneurship across Africa, paying particular attention to the improvement of competitiveness of African economies. It is exclusively funded by the billionaire Tony Elumelu, who has made his fortune from energy, banking, real estate and investments. Here are few key information on the programme.
- Entries for the 2015 edition will be open from January 1st 2015 up until March 1st, targeting a minimum of 10,000 applications yearly.
- TEEP will avail $100 million for the next ten years to 10,000 start-ups with the hope of producing 1,000,000 new jobs and $10 billion in annual revenue.
- 1000 start-ups will be selected by a committee regardless of age, language or nationality but on the basis of bankability.
- Thriving applicants will then be enrolled in a 12 week learning programme.
- Upon successful completion of the program they will be eligible to access funding in two tranches; a $5million seed capital and a $5 million debt or equity capital.
- The programme will be a mixture of traditional face-to-face and online (webinars and video tutorials) instruction. They will cover subjects such as business development, starting and scaling a business, effective management etc.
- The beginning start-ups will be paired with a TEEP mentor who will share their experiences, provide guidance and serve as a support system during the gruelling 12 weeks.
- The selected start-ups and mentors will have right of entry to the TEEP online resource library of sample business plans, research documents, video presentations, case studies and podcasts.These will augment the goal of increasing competitiveness of African economies. Additionally this online resource library will still be accessible once the programme has concluded.
The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program is bound to be a game changer in the world of entrepreneurs; it’s anyone’s guess the kind of heights graduates will accomplish. Be ready and apply from January 1st 2015 at http://www.tonyelumelufoundation.org/teep/