The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), leading philanthropy empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, catalysing economic growth, driving poverty eradication and job creation across African countries, and Google Inc, the world’s leading IT solutions firm, have announced an inaugural Google.org fellowship to provide one million additional Africans with access to TEFConnect.
The global head of technology at Google.org, Jen Carter, who disclosed the partnership on Wednesday at the TEF’s headquarters in Lagos, said that the initiative was part of the Foundation’s mission to empower young African entrepreneurs from all 54 African countries.
The IT solutions expert explained that the partnership was the first Google.org Fellowship in Africa and would offer enormous opportunities for Africa’s digital community.
Carter further hinted that nine full-time Google employees, including software engineers, UI/UX researchers, and policy experts, would work with the Foundation to design and build an upgraded version of the TEFConnect platform.
She clarified: “TEFConnect is already home to over one million African entrepreneurs and offers tailored tools, market partnerships, and access to coaches and investors to small businesses.
“This fellowship builds on an initial three million dollars grant by Google.org to support the 2021 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme by empowering an additional 500 African women to start or scale their businesses.
“The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme is a U.S. 100m dollar initiative that has supported over 15,000 African entrepreneurs and is the largest entrepreneurship programme in Africa”, Carter added
She also expressed Google’s happiness to start the first Google.org Fellowship in Africa with the TEF, an organization that is reputed to be doing so much to empower African entrepreneurs, particularly the young ones.
According to her, her company is excited to be able to extend its expertise to expand the reach of the TEFConnect platform to an additional one million entrepreneurs.
Carter noted that Google’s commitment in Africa had progressed from sponsoring projects to collaborative partnerships with established African entities such as the TEF, dedicated to developing young African talent.
The IT solutions expert explained that as Africa’s digital economy continues to grows, African entrepreneurs remained in very strong position to establish a powerful digital footprint, adding that this fellowship is one step closer to transforming the landscape.
In her remarks, the co-Founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Dr. Awele Elumelu, said that the organisation was happy to continue to share unique ability and platform to identify, train, mentor and fund young entrepreneurs across Africa.
She stressed that TEF intended to train, mentor and fund young entrepreneurs across Africa with like-minded institutions like Google.org who shared in its commitment to empower young African entrepreneurs.
The co-Founder enthused that it will be exciting to see the ways in which the refreshed TEFConnect platform will continue to provide a space for growth, personal development, and meaningful exchange for African entrepreneurs.
She said: “In line with our founding philosophy of Africapitalism, we believe that entrepreneurs are the catalysts for the social and economic development of the African continent.”
Sharing his experience with the TEF, a beneficiary, Lungile Marhungane, who is also the CEO, Jesu Puro Water, said before the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, the water company suffered financial setbacks.
The young entrepreneur, however, said that since TEF support, the company had “purchased new machines and impacted more communities to ease the water purification process, deliver clean water to villages that lack access to clean water at an affordable price.
“The Tony Elumelu Foundation Grant is a dream come true for me and a great opportunity. More people should partake; this is the most innovative platform in Africa,’’ he added.
