Federal Government Opens ₦50m Grant Scheme for Student Entrepreneurs
The Federal Government has opened applications for the second cohort of its Student Venture Capital Grant, offering up to ₦50 million each to 50 outstanding student-led businesses across the country.
The initiative, known as the Next Moonshot Initiative, is targeted at student entrepreneurs with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics-based business ideas, with the government seeking innovative ventures capable of developing and scaling viable businesses.
The National Coordinator, Special Programme Operations and Implementation Unit at the Federal Ministry of Education, Adebayo Onigbanjo, announced the commencement of applications at a news conference in Abuja on Friday. He said 50 outstanding ventures would eventually be selected from applications received from student innovators across Nigeria.
According to Onigbanjo, successful applicants will receive up to ₦50 million in equity-free grants to develop and scale their businesses. He said the initiative was designed to address the funding gap faced by young innovators and create opportunities for students to transform their ideas into sustainable businesses.
He said the programme aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and formed part of the Ministry of Education’s Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative, particularly its STEM pillar. Onigbanjo added that universities, polytechnics and colleges of education were expected to increasingly serve as centres for innovation, entrepreneurship and the development of solutions to societal challenges.
He noted that applications would undergo an initial Artificial Intelligence-assisted screening before being assessed by 10 human evaluators. Shortlisted applicants would subsequently make virtual presentations, while finalists would participate in a three-day boot camp before pitching their ventures to an evaluation committee.
Winners of the programme will also receive six months of mentorship supported by corporate and entrepreneurial organisations, while the Student Venture team and its partners will embark on a nationwide application roadshow from September 6 to 30 to expand awareness and participation.
The roadshow will cover nine tertiary institutions across the six geopolitical zones, including the University of Abuja, Nile University, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bayero University Kano, Kano University of Science and Technology, Federal Polytechnic Kaduna, Ambrose Alli University, University of Lagos and Covenant University.
The Federal Government said applications for the second cohort of the Student Venture Capital Grant would close on September 30, 2026, urging eligible student innovators across the country to take advantage of the opportunity to develop and scale their ventures.