Harvard adopts Tony Elumelu Foundation as case study

Harvard Business School, the graduate business school of Harvard University, has spotlighted the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), recognising its extraordinary philanthropic achievement in a case study.

The case study, the first of its kind on any philanthropic organisation in Africa, was yesterday before a class of graduate students in Boston, Massachusetts and will explore the foundation’s unique approaches and transformative initiatives, showcasing how strategic philanthropy offered by TEF is driving positive change in Africa.

The move by Harvard underscores the foundation’s pivotal role in empowering young African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries and places the organisation at the forefront of global discussions on transformative and catalytic philanthropy.

In addition to delving into the foundation’s innovative approaches and the resultant impacts it has created over the years, the event featured an exclusive acknowledgment of the Founder of TEF, Tony Elumelu’s economic philosophy called Africapitalism, which positions the private sector, and most importantly, entrepreneurs, as catalysts of social and economic development.

TEF is a leading philanthropy, empowering a new generation of African entrepreneurs, driving poverty eradication, catalysing job creation across Africa and increasing inclusive economic empowerment.

Since the launch of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme in 2015, the Foundation has trained over 1.5 million young Africans on its digital hub, TEFConnect and disbursed over $100 million in direct funding to 20,000 young African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.

Tony Elumelu who spoke on the impact of TEF on the African youth said: “TEF is creating economic hope and opportunity for African Entrepreneurs. We know that entrepreneurship is the antidote to poverty, youth unemployment and insecurity. Through the intervention of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, we are encouraging our young people, giving them hope through the seed capital we provide, capacitising them through the training and mentoring we provide and setting them up to create businesses that will succeed and create even more jobs. Collectively we are fixing the challenges that we have on the continent.

“TEF was set up to create more successful African business leaders. We want to replicate our success and create entrepreneurs who will build more prosperity on the continent and for the continent. It’s all about transforming our society and making sure that we leave society better than we met it. It is not about the money that we have in our bank accounts, it is about the legacy that we make and the impact we create. Prosperity for all is what will create the security, harmony and peace that we need.”