45,000 Africans Apply For 1,000 Spots In Elumelu Entrepreneur Program
Kenyan textile entrepreneur Timothy Murithi has increased production capacity at his silkworm company to 200,000 silkworms with the help of seed money and mentoring from the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme.
The CEO of Seritex, Murithi has been able to train 10 additional staff members to rear silkworms and plant mulberry trees, according to the TonyElumeluFoundation. The entrepreneur now has an office furnished with equipment needed to operate a business.
More than 45,000 entrepreneurs from 54 African countries applied, but just 1,000 were chosen to receive funding, mentoring and intensive online training in the second round of the Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme.
The program, which was launched in 2015, is the largest-ever African philanthropic initiative devoted to entrepreneurship, according to a press release by the Tony Elumelu Foundation.
An economist by training, entrepreneur and philanthropist Elumelu aims to identify and help grow 10,000 start-ups and young businesses from across Africa over 10 years. These businesses are expected to create 1 million new jobs and contribute $10 billion in annual revenues to Africa’s economy.
The 10,000 start-ups selected from applicants across Africa participate in a program that includes a customized 12-week business skills training course, mentoring, entrepreneurship boot camp and seed capital funding.
