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Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) operates with the belief that entrepreneurship and business skills are teachable and learnable. This is why we have devised a 12-week programme to equip startups with the basic skills required to launch and run their businesses at the early stage of their growth. We will bring together the best tools and frameworks to teach and hone entrepreneurship skills in Africa and globally.
The programme will be a mix of online and face-to-face instruction, including webinars and video tutorials with support from your mentor throughout. It will cover topics on starting and scaling a business, business development, marketing strategy, effective management and product design.
The importance of mentoring cannot be overemphasised, especially for early stage startups. They are a vital part of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) and will be selected for their expertise, passion and alignment to the programme vision and mission. TEEP will assemble world class mentors from across Africa and internationally who faced similar challenges and can steer TEEP startups along this tumultuous path.
From the onset, TEEP start-ups will be assigned a TEEP mentor who will dedicate time and share their business experiences, listen to their mentee’s goals and expectations and provide guidance and support throughout the programme. They will keep the startups on track to complete their business plans and to help them build a business with a solid foundation.
Mentors will also benefit from collaborative learning and by helping start-ups, they may be inspired with new ideas, new business strategies and learn more about the realities of doing business in Africa from African startups.
Start-ups, alumni and mentors of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Programme (TEEP) will have access to our curated online resource library of case studies, sample business plans, research documents, video presentations, industry articles and podcasts that will enhance the competitiveness of TEEP startups, accessible from anywhere in Africa. All course content and training materials used at the boot camp will also be cross-linked with the training modules, accessible on the online resource library.
Our goal is to provide a valuable library of relevant content for African entrepreneurs over time that will also be available even after graduating from the programme.
This is an intense interactive two-day live action learning experience where specialist trainers will help startups develop a range of soft skills using face-to-face, interactive teaching methods. This will take place at the end of the 12-week online training programme and prior to the Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum. The 1000 pan-African TEEP startups will gather in one location to share their stories, build networks and develop their soft skills through personal engagement in an interactive environment.
All selected start-ups will be expected to attend this boot camp and logistics expenses are covered by TEEP (see Terms and Conditions).
TEEP will host an annual Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum to showcase the African startup to a global audience of entrepreneurs, incubators, business, corporations, government, investors, academia and foundations. It will be a time of engagement, networking, learning and inspiration for start-ups as they conclude their TEEP tenure, and a chance to hear from world renowned executives, scholars and entrepreneurs.
The Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum will grow to become the signature annual entrepreneurship event on the continent; a showcase of the innovation and entrepreneurial potential that exists across Africa.
At the closing ceremony of the forum, the graduates from the programme will be presented with seed capital funding and invited to join the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Alumni Network.
The African startups that successfully complete the 12-week programme with the support of their mentors and attend the two-day bootcamp and the Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum will be awarded a non-returnable investment for further development of their business idea. Tony O. Elumelu, the Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP), will present the investment cheque, at the close of the three-day conference.
TEEP startups will be continuously monitored on both a portfolio and individual basis as we evaluate the startups for follow-on funding and beyond. The qualifying startups that have progressed their business plans sufficiently will each qualify for a second stage seed capital investment of N850,000 (Eight hundred and fifty thousand Naira) or it’s local currency equivalent that will be provided as returnable capital.
The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) is a year-long programme in which selected start-ups each go through a 12-week training course, develop a rapport with a mentor and build the business. Graduation in December of each year marks the end of the programme and one might wonder, “what next?”
TEEP will definitely not leave one out in the cold – the alumni network is where one can continue to connect with mentors and fellow TEEP start-ups, access the vast online resource library and be kept totally in the loop with TEEP.
The TEEP Alumni Network fosters a spirit of loyalty, comradery and dedication to give back to the programme, thereby promoting the general welfare of the programme and all those it has impacted.
This will become Africa’s largest entrepreneurship-focused alumni network, providing a safe and secure environment in which to facilitate sharing and collaboration around content, knowledge and information. The Alumni Network will provide a unique ecosystem for African startups to cross-pollinate grassroots businesses with energetic and passionate entrepreneurs all across Africa.
The combination of all of TEEP’s modalities; the online live-learning support, web mentoring, immersive boot camp, resource library, global entrepreneurship forum, seed funding and membership of the alumni network provides a unique system of intensive and effective support for the start-ups. The end outcome being strong viable businesses, which go on to create new jobs, more new revenue and ultimately enlarge Africa’s private business sector.
To apply, visit the Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) website
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