Program Description:

Title: The Tefxunicef Begreen Entrepreneurship Program 2025

Application deadline: 1st March 2025

PREVIEW

The world’s ecological problems of waste accumulation, environmental pollution, and the need to develop a circular economy call for urgent action. Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, and the other African continent also face different challenges, such as high-income inequality, unemployment, and poverty levels, with limited inclusion and participation of the youth. We designed this initiative to provide evidence on opportunities for youth entrepreneurship in a circular and green economy – with a focus on waste management – while addressing the triple planetary crisis, reducing inequalities, and creating sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their peers. The Green Initiative will contribute evidence on innovative development models to drive growth and employment for youth in Africa and beyond.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, Ikea Foundation, and Generation Unlimited are working together to uniquely position and leverage their assets and support youth to lead a sustained green revolution in Africa. As the founding partners of the proposed BeGreen Africa partnership, we will leverage our collective expertise, close relations with government, the private sector, and youth networks, and extensive field presence across Africa and Kenya to work to improve lives through greening the continent. Through this Partnership, we will empower entrepreneurs from Kenya, Nigeria, Morocco, Senegal, and South Africa in the green economy sector. The curriculum focuses on practical, iterative learning that is useful even long after the training period.

The training curriculum has been designed to segment entrepreneurs based on their demonstrated capability and knowledge. The tailored training courses educate and provide capacities for you to:
understand the concept of growing your business to overcome the challenges faced by entrepreneurs across the African continent.
Gain in-depth knowledge to Build a circular and green economy through less consumption, better consumption, and the creation of systemic change at community, national, and global levels.

THE APPLICATION FORM

The application form consists of four parts:

• Personal information
• Business Information
• Cognitive assessment
• Declaration section

To ensure a transparent application process, all applicants will need to have a valid government-issued ID and indicate their name on the application form on TEFConnect exactly as it appears on the ID card.

ALL APPLICANTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO:

• Read all Instructions carefully before you start the application.
• Read the terms and conditions of the program before you accept it.
• Complete all mandatory fields in the online application form on TEFConnect.
• Attach all the requested documents (valid identity card and photo headshot) and upload the required documents.
• Submit the completed application form.
• Expect a notification and email from the Foundation.

PLEASE NOTE: TEFConnect can only be accessed by a single email account. It is important that all applicants register with an email to which they have regular access.

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE PROGRAMME?

The Entrepreneurship Programme identifies outstanding African entrepreneurs with start-ups or business ideas with the potential to grow. The TEF Entrepreneurship Programme will be delivered in different phases as listed below:

• Application Phase
• Training &Mentorship Phase
• Business Plan Submission Phase
• Pitching Phase
• Seed Capital Phase

THE APPLICATION PHASE

The Application for the BEGreen Programme is from the 1st of January 2025 via the TEFConnect Platform -www.tefconnect.com. Once applications are closed, eligible applicants will have access to the Business Training Courses.

PREPARATORY

The applicants who are not eligible are in the Preparatory Category. It means you do not meet the criteria to participate in the program and the skillset needed to start a business. Kindly go through the general training on TEFConnect. You will, however, not be eligible for mentorship or seed capital.

THE TEF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT TRAINING PROGRAMME

After the application phase, all Shortlisted applicants will go through the TEF Business Management Training modules, and Green Business training.

THE TRAINING, MENTORSHIP AND VIRTUAL SESSIONS

Once shortlisted, you will be eligible to participate in our business training and mentoring virtual sessions. There will be multiple-choice questions to track your performance. You will attend a virtual orientation session to learn more about the program and its processes. During the session, we will share the timelines and resources needed for you to succeed.

The Shortlisted participants must complete the business training and answer the quiz at the end of each course.
The Top performing applicants who have met all requirements will develop a cohesive Business & Financial Plan Document for their Business.

THE BUSINESS PLAN AND FINANCIALS SUBMISSION PHASE

At the end of the training, you will combine all the learnings into a cohesive document. The Entrepreneurship Programme team will share the business & financial plan template with all participants. The template will guide you and help you create your business & financial plan document.

We will communicate the deadline for submission. Only successful candidates (who complete the MCQs, score above the cutoff mark, and submit a business plan) would be eligible to move on to the next stage: the Physical Pitching Competition.

THE PHYSICAL PITCHING PHASE

The pitching competition allows you to demonstrate your business knowledge and convince the panel of judges about your business’s feasibility, scalability, market & financial understanding. At the pitching stage, entrepreneurs will pitch their ideas before a panel of judges. Only the successful candidates from the pitching competition who have met all due diligence requirements will receive seed capital funding and access to the Alumni network to support their business ambitions.

Please note that this phase is another key outcome of this training program, and all shortlisted entrepreneurs must go through this phase to be eligible for SEED CAPITAL.

THE SEED CAPITAL PHASE

All TEFXUNICEF BEGreen selected participants who have completed all the above steps, registered their business & opened a bank account will be paid the seed capital. An entrepreneur who has received funding and acknowledged receipt of payment will be issued a TEFXUNICEF BEGREEN CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION AND ACHIEVEMENT.

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