The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a grant of $5 million to support the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme impact additional 1,000 select youth entrepreneurs.
This is part of the partnership agreement between the Bank's Board of Directors and officials of the Tony Elumelu Foundation in March 2019.
According to AfDB, the partnership will strengthen small to medium-sized enterprises as well as talent and skills development for Africa’s youth.
The partnership will support 3,050 young entrepreneurs across 54 African countries. “The Bank's participation will enable an additional 1,000 entrepreneurs to benefit from the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program, which provides much-needed opportunities to help stem the rising tide of unemployment and inequality facing the continent’s youngest citizens,” the board said in a statement.
Other development partners involved in supporting the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme are Agence Française de Développement, the German Agency for International Cooperation, the United Nations Development Programme, and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
In March, the foundation selected 3,050 applicants out of the 216,000 submitted applications across Africa.
Some of the parameters used in selecting shortlisted applicants include feasibility, market opportunity, scalability, leadership skill and viability of the idea.
Every year, the foundation opens its application portal to African entrepreneurs, with businesses of less than three years old. The application for the 2020 cohort will start on January 1st, 2020.
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