Abuja: The Federal Government on Monday unveiled a N50 million Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG), aimed at promoting innovation, research excellence, and entrepreneurship across Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. Speaking at the official launch in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, emphasized that the program represents a strategic national investment in young innovators and aligns directly with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for Education.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the S-VCG is more than just a grant scheme. It is designed to identify high-potential ideas from campuses and foster a culture of creativity and enterprise among students. Beneficiaries will receive up to N50 million in equity-free seed funding, along with intensive incubation, expert mentorship, and access to networks and essential startup-building tools.
The initiative is a joint effort 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. The program is open to full-time students in federal, state, and private tertiary institutions from year three and above, with younger students allowed as team members.
Dr. Alausa highlighted that the S-VCG aims to identify exceptional talent, providing them with a credible opportunity to succeed, and inspiring thousands of others to believe in their capacity to innovate. He noted that many successful founders did not thrive on their first attempt, but their journey began with a spark. This program exists to ignite that spark, build a new culture of confidence, and showcase the depth of Nigerian ingenuity to the world.
Eligible ventures must have a CAC-registered business name and be rooted in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Sciences (STEMM) fields. Every application will undergo a thorough evaluation, with short-listed teams pitching 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 and shared innovation.
The S-VCG is expected to accelerate research commercialization, support intellectual property development, and position students to produce high-impact solutions with global relevance. Although not every idea will become a startup, some will evolve into patents and licensable technologies capable of significant impact.
Mr. Adebayo Onigbanjo, National Programme Coordinator, Special Programme Unit of S-VCG, stated that the program is designed to ignite student-driven innovation and close the investment gaps that have made venture capitalists hesitant to invest in early-stage university ideas. The portal has received 17,914 applications from 402 schools, including 346 public and 56 private institutions, with over 1,000 applications actually submitted.
Former Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji, whose board awards a $100,000 prize annually for groundbreaking scientific innovations, commended the initiative for its alignment with efforts to deepen scientific research and innovation in Nigeria. “This is how students and their mentors can develop impactful inventions that serve global needs but solve local problems,” he remarked.