The Tony Elumelu Foundation in Lagos, Nigeria, has announced the first thousand participants in its Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme, a $100 million initiative to discover and support ten thousand African entrepreneurs over the next decade.

The selected entrepreneurs will participate in a nine-month customized business skills training course, an entrepreneurship "boot camp," and the annual Elumelu Entrepreneurship Forum, and will also receive seed funding, mentoring, and membership in the initiative's alumni network. Drawn from more than twenty thousand applicants, this year's cohort represents fifty-two African countries and territories across a range of sectors, from agriculture to education to information and communications technology.

The 2015 class is the first of ten the foundation will identify and support through the program, with the dual goal of creating a million new jobs and $10 billion in annual revenues. The top five countries in terms of participants are Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, and Ghana, with all major regions and language blocs on the continent — Anglophone, Francophone, Lusophone, and Arabic Africa — represented. 

"The high quantity and quality of applicants we have received is testament to the brilliant ideas and incredible talent that exists in abundance across Africa," said Parminder Vir, director of entrepreneurship at the Elumelu Foundation. "The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme will give structure and support to these African entrepreneurs to develop themselves and to grow their businesses. Through TEEP, the ripple effects of the long-term investments in a new generation of Africapitalists will be felt throughout the continent."

For a complete list of 2015 Elumelu Entrepreneurs, visit the Elumelu Foundation website.