Over 45,000 entrepreneurs from 54 African countries applied, for the second annual round of the $100 million programme for emerging African entrepreneurs, nearly doubling the number of applications received in 2015. Successful candidates represent 53 African countries, and diverse industries, led by agriculture and ICT.
Launched in 2015, TEEP is the largest African philanthropic initiative devoted to entrepreneurship and represents a 10-year, $100 million commitment, to identify and empower 10,000 African entrepreneurs, create a million jobs and add $10 billion in revenues to Africa’s economy.
The highest numbers of applicants came from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda and Cameroon. All five regions – North, East, Southern, Central and West Africa are represented.
Founder, Tony Elumelu commented: “In TEEP’s first year we spent over $8 million of our $100 million commitment – with $5 million going directly to entrepreneurs as seed capital — and the results have far exceeded our expectations. We have funded entrepreneurs, established networks and helped extraordinary people take control of their destinies.”
New research shows immigrants responsible for building fast growing companies in the US
Immigrants play a key role in creating new, fast-growing companies, this is according to a new paper by the National Foundation for American Policy, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization.
According to the research, immigrants have started more than half (44 of 87) of America’s startup companies valued at a billion dollars or more and are key members of management or product development teams in over 70% (62 of 87) of these companies, creating an average of approximately 760 jobs per company in the U.S.
For its paper, NFAP gathered information on the 87 U.S. startup companies. (Forbes)
South African technology start-up Eduze attracts TED as lead investor
South African tech start-up Eduze last week announced a partnership and investment from non-profit TED.
The company mission to provide all Africans with equal access to reliable, relevant, and uplifting free content that is entertaining, educational and informative struck a serious chord with the non-profit TED whose, own mission is “Ideas worth spreading”.
Frustrated by the slow data speeds and high costs which characterise the African connectivity landscape, Eduze set out to develop a unique Wi-Fi– based technology, called Cloud in a Box or CLOX.
CLOX allows users to browse, stream and download digital content without using any data. Eduze users can download a movie in about five minute, an album in about one minute and stream with no buffering – all with no data charges.
Deron Triff, TED’s head of media distribution, commented: “Eduze has pioneered something extraordinary — thanks to its technology, for the first time, entire swaths of the global population will have the ability to connect and explore, to discover and learn. It’s exactly this kind of breakthrough in connectivity we seek in our work to spread ideas to the far corners of the world.”
