Federal Government unveils N50m equity-free grant for tertiary students

The federal government on Monday unveiled a N50 million Student Venture Capital Grant, aimed at promoting innovation, research excellence, and entrepreneurship across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.

The government said it was targeting 250,000 students in the first cohort, with over 100,000 already enrolled and receiving training in 1,620 centres nationwide.

Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, who unveiled the initiative in Abuja on Monday, described it as a bold step towards empowering young innovators and building a robust national innovation ecosystem.

He said the application portal opened on November 17 and will close on January 23, 2026, with the evaluation process beginning immediately afterwards.

Alausa said the programme represented a strategic national investment in young innovators and aligned directly with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Education.

He said the SVCG was conceived to promote creativity, enterprise, and economic independence among students, adding that President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to youth development formed the backbone of the programme.

The minister described the S-VCG as more than a grant scheme, noting that it is designed to identify high-potential ideas from campuses and nurture a culture of creativity and enterprise among students.

He said beneficiaries would receive up to N50 million in equity-free seed funding, alongside intensive incubation, expert mentorship, and access to networks and critical startup-building tools.

According to him, the initiative will be jointly implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education and Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, Afara Initiative, Afrilabs, the Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre, and Google.