Nigeria’s entrepreneurial engine is gaining fresh momentum as Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp Group) deepens its investment in young business leaders. Through its partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the Group is supporting 625 entrepreneurs in the 2026 cohort, contributing to a continent-wide program that will equip 3,200 African founders with $5,000 each to launch and grow their businesses.
Transnational Corporation Plc (Transcorp Group) has marked a significant milestone in its partnership with the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), as the Foundation announced a cohort of 3,200 beneficiaries of its 2026 Entrepreneurship Programme for young African entrepreneurs. Each of the beneficiaries will receive $5,000 in seed capital funding to launch and grow their businesses across the continent.
In the 2026 edition of the TEF Entrepreneurship Programme, Transcorp Group proudly sponsored 625 entrepreneurs, bringing its cumulative total of empowered entrepreneurs to 1,250 with more than $2 million in direct investment, since the partnership began.
Speaking at the official announcement of the beneficiaries, Founder of the TEF, Mr. Tony O. Elumelu, CFR, said “the future of Africa will be built by Africans who create businesses, generate jobs and solve the challenges of our continent.” He reiterated that “Empowering entrepreneurs remains the most sustainable path to economic transformation of the continent.”
The occasion served as a powerful reminder of Mr. Elumelu’s strong commitment to democratise luck and create tangible opportunities for young Africans who dare to dream.
President and Group Chief Executive Officer of Transcorp Group, Owen D. Omogiafo, OON, in her remarks made at the event, reflected on what the partnership means in real, human terms and reaffirmed the Group’s deepening commitment to its host communities.
“In Delta State, home to our Transcorp Power Plc in Ughelli, among the multiple impact of our diverse empowerment programmes on indigenes and residents of our host communities, we have empowered 625 entrepreneurs through the TEF Programme in a single year. That is not a coincidence. That is commitment,” said Mrs. Omogiafo.
“We do this because we believe that when people have an opportunity to thrive and create value for others, significant issues in our continent begin to be addressed. In our partnership with the TEF, we have so far empowered 1,250 entrepreneurs with about $2 million and counting,” she concluded.
A defining feature of Transcorp’s partnership with the TEF programme is its deliberate focus on host communities within the Niger Delta region, where the Group’s power subsidiaries, Transcorp Power Plc (Ughelli, Delta State) and Trans Afam Power Limited (Afam, Rivers State), operate. Out of the 1,250 entrepreneurs empowered through the partnership to date, over 430 are from Niger Delta states, including Delta, Rivers, Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Edo, Imo and Ondo. In Delta State alone, 254 entrepreneurs have been empowered, with 240 being part of those funded in 2026 alone.
Transcorp Group’s participation in the 2026 TEF Entrepreneurship Programme further strengthens the Group’s status as a purpose-driven responsive corporate leader. With a combined market capitalisation of ~₦5 trillion across its listed subsidiaries and over 300,000 shareholders, Transcorp is a Group that Nigerians have a genuine stake in, and one that remains deeply invested in their future.