Business

Tony Elumelu Foundation Announces 10th Cohort OF Entrepreneurship Programme – 20,000 Entrepreneurs Funded Across Africa

Published

2 years ago

March 25, 2024

503 Views

The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), the leading philanthropy empowering young African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries, has announced the successful entrepreneurs in its tenth selection for the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.

This new cohort brings to 20,000, the number of young African entrepreneurs who have received funding, mentoring, and capacity-building support from the Foundation, double the initial commitment.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation has disbursed US$100,000,000 directly to young African entrepreneurs, who have created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs, contributing significantly to Africa’s economic growth and development. 45% of these beneficiaries are women, reiterating the Foundation’s commitment to gender inclusion and equity.

Past entrepreneurs selected across Africa include:

Stella Sigana, founder of Alternative Waste Technologies from Kenya, produces fuel briquettes by converting organic and charcoal waste from slum settlements, and dedicates a portion of the revenues to providing education, skills training, and job placement for adolescent girls and young women aged 18-24.

Since her selection, Stella has created 12 jobs, generated over $79,000 in revenue, and recycled over 500 tons of waste into fuel briquettes for cooking.

Her business model has also empowered hundreds of women entrepreneurs in slum settlements in Kenya, enabling them to build businesses by selling her products directly to their communities, thus significantly increasing household income and wellbeing.

Vital Sounouvou from Benin is the founder of Exportunity, an e-commerce platform that promotes export opportunities for Africans by connecting producers with traders. Through Exportunity, Sounouvou has engaged over 750 clients, and built a database of 85,000 companies trading with Africa. He has employed 32 people.

Nora Chaynane, a Moroccan entrepreneur, and founder of Shine Space, a socio-educational initiative aimed at bridging the knowledge gap and guiding students toward the right career path, helps young Moroccans develop technical and interpersonal skills beyond school curriculum requirements. Through Shine Space, Nora has upskilled and capacitised over 2,500 young Moroccans.

Since inception in 2010, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has pioneered an innovative approach to seeding, capacitising and networking young entrepreneurs across Africa. Drawing directly from Founder Tony Elumelu’s entrepreneurial journey, the Foundation democratises luck, spreads opportunity, in a sector agnostic approach, and has developed a bespoke infrastructure that reaches every country in Africa.

The Foundation is driven by our Founder’s philosophy of Africapitalism, which advocates that the private sector, particularly entrepreneurs, must play the pivotal role in Africa’s development.

The robust ability of the Foundation to reach entrepreneurs across geographies and sectors has enabled it to conduct innovative partnerships with the European Union (EU), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the US Government via the United States African Development Foundation (USADF), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Paciﬁc States (OACPS), the French Development Agency (AFD), the German Development Finance Institution (DEG), the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), the African Development Bank (AfDB), Sèmè City Development Agency, and Google, with bespoke programmes including targeting female empowerment and growth in fragile states. Building on its existing partnership with Sèmè City Development Agency, the Tony Elumelu Foundation will fund an additional 100 young entrepreneurs from Benin Republic in 2024.

Tony O. Elumelu shared: “As we mark a decade of impact, I am immensely proud of the incredible journey we have embarked on. Our entrepreneurs represent the driving force behind Africa’s economic transformation, and their resilience, determination, and innovation continue to inspire us all. The future of our continent is brighter because of their efforts.”

As part of the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s commitment to support young Africans, the following ongoing opportunities are currently open for applications from young entrepreneurs across Africa on TEFConnect

Business

Naira Exchange Rates Tuesday, August 25

Published

6 hours ago

August 25, 2026

OCHEFA

15 Views

BLACK MARKET RATES

US Dollar (USD) Buy ₦1,400 Sell ₦1,405

Great British Pound(GBP) Buy ₦1,900 Sell: ₦1,920

EURO (EUR) Buy ₦1,590 Sell ₦1,610

Canadian Dollar (CAD) Buy ₦1,020 Sell ₦1,080

South African Rand (ZAR) Buy ₦75 Sell ₦90

Ghana CEDI (GHS) Buy ₦95 Sell ₦110

West African CFA Buy ₦2, 300 Sell ₦2, 400

CENTRAL AFRICAN CFA Buy ₦2,150 Sell 2,250

CBN Exchange Rates

US Dollar (USD) ₦1,346.98

Great British Pound (GBP) ₦1,837 54

EURO (EUR) ₦1,571.52

Swiss Franc (CHF) ₦1,678.89

Chinese Yuan (CNY) ₦200.37

Japanese Yen (Yen) ₦8.46

West African CFA (XOF) ₦2. 40

West African Unit Account (WAUA) ₦1,849. 43

Saudi Riyal (SAR) ₦358.73

South African Rand (ZAR) ₦84.11

Business

NAFDAC Gives Conditions For Reopening Sealed Factories of Alcoholic Manufacturers

The reopening and continued opening of any facility shall be subject to:Full compliance with the nationwide recall directive. Payment of all applicable investigative charges and regulatory fees…

Published

20 hours ago

August 24, 2026

OCHEFA

19 Views

• NAFDAC DG, Prof Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Monday gave the conditions for the reopening of sealed factories of alcoholic beverages manufacturers nationwide.

At a press briefing in Lagos, the agency’s Director – General, Prof Mojisola Christianah Adeyeye, also directed the Distillers and Blenders Association of Nigeria (DIBAN), the Association of Food, Beverage and Tobacco Employers (AFBTE), and their member companies who have not comply with the ban on alcoholic beverages packaged in sachets and PET (plastic) bottles below 200ml to do so.

“Affected manufacturers are required to immediately commence a nationwide recall of all alcoholic drinks packaged in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml from distributors, warehouses, and other points within the supply chain and submit to the agency for destruction,” she said.

Emphasising on reopening sealed factories, she said: ” NAFDAC imposed investigative charges on defaulting companies found to have violated regulatory directives relating to the manufacture and distribution of alcoholic beverages in prohibited package sizes.

The affected companies are required to settle the applicable charges within the stipulated period and comply fully with all regulatory directives issued by the Agency.

The Agency wishes to emphasize that all recalled alcoholic products shall be subjected to inventory verification and destruction under NAFDAC supervision in accordance with the terms of the enforcement undertaking. Manufacturers shall bear the full cost of such destruction exercises.

Furthermore, before any sealed facility involved in the production of alcoholic beverages in sachets or PET bottles below 200ml can be reopened, NAFDAC will require satisfactory evidence that the production lines used for the prohibited package sizes have been dismantled, permanently disabled, or reconfigured to prevent the manufacture and packaging of alcoholic products in sachets and PET bottles below 200ml.

Such dismantling or reconfiguration shall be carried out under the direct supervision and verification of NAFDAC officers.

The reopening and continued opening of any facility shall be subject to:Full compliance with the nationwide recall directive. Payment of all applicable investigative charges and regulatory fees.Successful destruction of recalled products under NAFDAC supervision. Verification of the dismantling, reconfiguration, or decommissioning of equipment used for prohibited package sizes.Satisfactory inspection and certification by NAFDAC that the facility is compliant with all regulatory requirements.”

Business

Cybercriminals cloning DStv, other brands to steal bank accounts across Africa

According to cybersecurity company NordVPN, the campaign distributes Remote Access Trojans (RATs) and banking trojans, forms of malware that can give criminals control over infected devices and access to sensitive information.

Published

4 days ago

August 21, 2026

OCHEFA

39 Views

Cybercriminals are impersonating popular companies and government agencies across Africa in a campaign designed to take over smartphones and bank accounts.

More than 100 fake websites linked to the malware campaign have been identified since August 2025.

Brands including DStv, Takealot and South African Airways, as well as the South African Revenue Service (SARS), are being used to make fraudulent messages and websites appear legitimate.

The attacks are particularly concerning in South Africa, where Android dominates the mobile operating system market.

NordVPN said the attacks typically begin with social engineering, where criminals send convincing messages through SMS, WhatsApp or social media.

The messages may contain urgent offers or requests involving job opportunities, tax refunds, identity renewals or pension verification.

Victims are then directed to fake websites designed to closely resemble the official websites of trusted organisations.

The sites encourage users to download an Android application. Once installed, the malicious software can operate quietly in the background, including after the smartphone is restarted.