Esther Imonmion
The Federal Government on Monday, December 8, 2025, unveiled a N50 million Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG) to promote innovation, research excellence and entrepreneurship across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Speaking at the official launch in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said the programme aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Education and represents a strategic national investment in young innovators.
He described the S-VCG as more than a grant scheme, noting that it is designed to identify high-potential ideas on campuses and nurture a culture of creativity and enterprise among students.
According to him, beneficiaries will receive up to N50 million in equity-free seed funding, alongside intensive incubation, expert mentorship and access to critical startup-building tools and networks.
The initiative is jointly implemented by the Federal Ministry of Education and TETFund, in collaboration with the Bank of Industry, Afara Initiative, Afrilabs, the Entrepreneurship and Skills Development Centre, and Google.
Alausa said the programme is open to full-time students in federal, state and private tertiary institutions from Year Three and above, while younger students may participate as team members.
“The S-VCG is structured to identify exceptional talent, give them a fair opportunity to succeed and inspire thousands of others to believe in their capacity to innovate,” he said.
He added that eligible ventures must have a CAC-registered business name and be rooted in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences (STEMM) fields.
All applications will undergo a thorough evaluation process, with shortlisted teams required to pitch 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 encourage collaboration.
The minister stressed that the programme is expected to accelerate research commercialisation, intellectual property development and the production of high-impact solutions with global relevance.
Speaking on the programme overview, Mr Adebayo Onigbanjo, National Programme Coordinator of the Special Programme Unit, said the portal has received 17,914 applications from 402 institutions, comprising 346 public and 56 private schools.
He said the initiative was designed to close investment gaps that often deter venture capitalists from funding early-stage university ideas.
Also speaking, former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, whose foundation awards a $100,000 annual prize for scientific innovation, commended the programme for strengthening research and innovation in the country.
“This is how students and their mentors can develop inventions that solve local problems and serve global needs,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the application portal opened on November 17, 2025, and will close on January 23, 2026, with the evaluation process to begin immediately after.