Africa has the youngest population in the world, with 70 percent of sub-Saharan Africa under the age of 30. Such a high number of young people is an opportunity for the continent’s growth – but only if these new generations are fully empowered to realize their best potential.
It is especially important that young people are included in decision making and given appropriate opportunities for work and to innovate. For years, efforts have been made to bring out the full potential in these young, vibrant, and enterprising Africans.
According to Bookings, by 2030, over 40 percent of the global youth population will be African and by 2050, the number of African youths is expected to reach 830 million.
There is no doubt that this growth trend is exciting, given the potential for young people in the workforce to unleash a demographic dividend that positively transforms millions of lives.
Unfortunately, Africa’s youth bulge may not drive the economic growth and wealth creation that is expected because more than 1 in 4 young people in Africa’s economies are not in employment, education, or training.
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The African Development Bank estimates that each year, up to 12 million youths in Africa enter a workforce that has only 3.1 million jobs available and consequently, 1.7 million new jobs need to be created each month to meet employment needs.
To help empower African youth and entrepreneurs, no programs has done it better than the Tony Elumelu Foundation. The the lenses of this program, one can see that across Africa, dreams are taking flight and that innovations are thriving, with only one thing lacking; support.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation will be announcing its 11th cohort entrepreneurship program on March 22, 2025, which will be televised live on NTV Kenya. The 11th cohort is expected to benefit and empower more Kenyan entrepreneurs, create employment opportunities, and impact the Kenyan economy.
With over 100 million US Dollars disbursed to entrepreneurs, 1.5 million jobs created by TEF beneficiaries, and over 2 million Africans impacted, the program has played a major role in actualizing the dreams of African entrepreneurs and startups with grants to kickstart their entrepreneurial journey.
In Kenya, 782 entrepreneurs have each received 5,000 US Dollars in seed capital funding, fueling ideas, creating jobs, and transforming communities as a result of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
In 2024, the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) announced the selection of 1,104 beneficiaries across 54 African countries, out of which 37 were from Kenya.
The impact of the Tony Elumelu Foundation extends beyond funding. It is changing lives and shaping Africa’s future, as witnessed by beneficiaries of the catalytic TEF Entrepreneurship Programme.
Ahead of the upcoming announcement, Tony O. Elumelu, C.F.R., Founder of TEF and Group Chairman of Heirs Holdings, reiterates his unwavering belief in the potential of Africa’s entrepreneurs: “I believe that Africa’s transformation will not be led by aid, but by empowering the next generation of African entrepreneurs—giving them the tools, the funding, the training, and the networks to build sustainable businesses that create jobs and drive economic growth.”
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