75 Kenyans among beneficiaries of Sh10b fund

Seventy-five Kenyans are among 1,000 start-up founders from Africa who will benefit from a $100 million (Sh10 billion) fund.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) selected this year’s cohort from 45,000 applicants in 54 African countries.

Launched in 2015, the programme, which is funded by United Bank for Africa Group Chairman Tony Elumelu, seeks to identify and empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs, create a million jobs and add $10 billion (Sh1 trillion) in revenue to Africa’s economy in the next 10 years.

The seed capital funding will be released at the close of a TEEP forum in Lagos, Nigeria. The entrepreneurship forum is aimed at showcasing African start-ups to a global audience of entrepreneurs, incubators, corporations, government officials, investors, academics and foundations.

The entrepreneurs represent sectors from agriculture to fashion, with 36 per cent of those chosen being women, an increase from 24 per cent in the first year. Entrepreneurs range in age from 18 to 54.

“We are proud to have established a unique platform for African entrepreneurs to forge relationships and business partnerships. In doing so, we are creating an ecosystem that fosters innovation and collaboration, on a scale few believed