Tony Elumelu
Budding Ugandan entrepreneurs have won seed funding from the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), Business Focus reports.
The 2024 winners are in the areas of fashion, manufacturing, and creation, among others, and will benefit from non-refundable US$ 5, 000 each as seed capital, business management training, and mentorship. TEF has trained over 1.5 million young people in Africa since 2015.
Hoziana Niyonsaba, the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communication at the United Bank for Africa (UBA), made the announcement in Kampala on Friday. Businessman Tony Elumelu, the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, is the chairman of UBA.
Niyonsaba said the winners emerged from over 500 applications. According to Niyonsaba, the 27 beneficiaries have bank accounts with UBA. However, she also noted that the bank has an interest in the winners because their journey aligns well with the bank’s dream of supporting and growing start-ups.
Suzan Akisu, UBA’s Regional Head, Kampala, said that “TEF speaks to our dream. We believe in youth and SMEs. Therefore, we join and support beneficiaries in growing the businesses.”
Since 2015, 997 Ugandans have benefited from the TEF seed capital.
Faith Kwera, who is the president of the Tony Elumelu Foundation- Uganda, benefited from the program in 2019. At the time, she was a banker. However, after receiving the support, she dropped banking to give time to her start-up, Quera Tickets. She deals in events and movie e-ticketing. Speaking on Friday, Kwera appealed to the 2024 beneficiaries to put the seed capital to good use.
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