The Federal Government has unveiled a ₦50 million Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG) designed to strengthen innovation, promote research excellence, and drive entrepreneurship across Nigeria’s universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
Speaking at the official launch in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, described the initiative as a strategic national investment in youth innovation and a key component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Education.
He explained that the programme goes beyond traditional grant funding, serving instead as a platform to identify high-potential ideas from tertiary institutions and nurture a new culture of creativity and enterprise among students.
Under the scheme, beneficiaries stand to receive up to ₦50 million in equity-free seed funding, in addition to intensive incubation support, expert mentorship, access to industry networks, and essential startup-building tools.
The S-VCG is being jointly implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education and TETFund, with collaboration from the Bank of Industry, Afara Initiative, Afrilabs, the Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre, and Google.
Alausa noted that the programme is open to full-time students in federal, state, and private tertiary institutions, starting from Year Three. Younger students may participate as team members.
He emphasised that the goal is to give exceptional young innovators a credible pathway to succeed:
“Many successful founders did not flourish on their first attempt, but their journey began with a spark. This programme is designed to ignite that spark, build confidence, and highlight the depth of Nigerian ingenuity.”
Eligible ventures must already have a CAC-registered business name and be built around STEM and Medical Sciences including science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and health-related fields.
Dr. Alausa explained that each application will undergo rigorous evaluation, with shortlisted teams pitching to a 12-member expert panel comprising leaders from academia, industry, venture capital, and government.
Participants will receive constructive feedback and may be matched with complementary teams to foster collaboration and strengthen project viability.
The S-VCG, he added, is designed to boost research commercialization, support the development of intellectual property, and help students produce globally relevant, high-impact solutions.
“Not every idea will grow into a startup,” he said, “but many will evolve into patents and licensable technologies capable of delivering significant societal impact.”
Giving an overview of the programme, Mr. Adebayo Onigbanjo, National Programme Coordinator, disclosed that the platform has already attracted 17,914 applications from 402 institutions 346 public and 56 private. Of these, over 1,000 complete applications have already been formally submitted.
Former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, whose foundation awards a $100,000 scientific innovation prize annually, praised the initiative for aligning with national efforts to deepen scientific research. He stressed that such programmes will empower students and mentors to develop inventions that address global challenges while providing practical solutions to local problems.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the application portal opened on November 17, 2025 and will close on January 23, 2026, after which the evaluation and selection process will begin immediately.
