Grace Ashiru
The Federal Government (FG) launched a N50 million Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG) on Monday to encourage innovation, research excellence, and entrepreneurship across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
At the official launch in Abuja, Dr. Tunji Alausa, the Minister of Education, emphasized that the programme was a strategic national investment in young innovators and directly aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Education. Alausa described the S-VCG as more than just a grant scheme, highlighting that it aims to identify high-potential ideas from students and foster a culture of creativity and enterprise within campuses.
The minister explained that beneficiaries of the S-VCG would receive up to N50 million in equity-free seed funding, along with intensive incubation, expert mentorship, and access to valuable networks and startup-building resources. The initiative is a collaboration between the Federal Ministry of Education, TETFund, the Bank of Industry, Afara Initiative, Afrilabs, the Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre, and Google.
Alausa outlined that the programme is open to full-time students in federal, state, and private tertiary institutions from their third year onward, with younger students allowed to participate as team members. He stressed that the S-VCG is structured to identify exceptional talent and offer them a fair opportunity to succeed, while inspiring many others to believe in their potential for innovation.
The minister also emphasized that the programme would ignite a new culture of confidence and showcase Nigeria’s ingenuity to the world. He added that the S-VCG would provide beneficiaries with a comprehensive support package to help them build viable and scalable ventures. Eligible ventures must have a registered business name with the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and should focus on Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Sciences (STEMM).
Alausa further explained that all applications would undergo a rigorous evaluation process, with shortlisted teams pitching their ideas before a 12-member expert panel drawn from academia, industry, venture capital, and government. Participants will receive feedback and may be paired with complementary teams to foster collaboration and innovation. He pointed out that while not every idea would evolve into a startup, some could lead to patents or licensable technologies with significant global impact.
Mr. Adebayo Onigbanjo, National Programme Coordinator for the Special Programme Unit of S-VCG, said the initiative was designed to drive student-led innovation and address the investment gaps that have made venture capitalists hesitant to fund early-stage university ideas. Onigbanjo revealed that the programme had already received 17,914 applications from 402 schools, including 346 public and 56 private institutions, with over 1,000 submissions.
Prof. Barth Nnaji, former Minister of Power, commended the initiative for its alignment with efforts to enhance scientific research and innovation in Nigeria. He emphasized that the programme would enable students and their mentors to develop impactful inventions that address local problems while meeting global needs.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the application portal opened on November 17 and will close on January 23, 2026. The evaluation process will begin immediately afterward.
