The Federal Ministry of Education has shortlisted 65 student innovators from a pool of 30,639 applicants across 404 tertiary institutions nationwide for the final stage of the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG), a flagship initiative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu aimed at boosting innovation and entrepreneurship among Nigerian students.
The initiative underscores the depth of creativity and entrepreneurial potential within Nigeria’s academic community, with participants developing scalable solutions across sectors critical to national development.
Announcing the development, the Minister of Education, Maruf Olatunji Alausa, described the programme as a strategic investment in the country’s future innovators and job creators. He noted that the outcome reflected the growing capacity of Nigerian students to drive enterprise and innovation.
“The quality and ambition demonstrated by these 65 student innovators is deeply encouraging. Reaching this stage represents a significant milestone, and I look forward to the next phase as these ventures are refined and prepared for scale,” the minister said.
Launched in December 2025 in partnership with the Bank of Industry, the Student Venture Capital Grant provides up to ₦50 million in equity-free funding to student-led ventures that have reached the commercialisation stage. The programme is designed to help young entrepreneurs scale their innovations, create jobs and contribute to Nigeria’s innovation-driven economy.
The selection process involved a rigorous multi-stage evaluation, beginning with AI-enabled screening to assess eligibility and alignment with programme objectives, followed by independent human validation to ensure fairness and accuracy.
Shortlisted entries were further reviewed by a diverse panel comprising representatives from government, academia, industry and the investment community. The assessment focused on scalability, feasibility, founder capability and potential impact.
As the programme advance to its final phase, the selected innovators will participate in an intensive venture development bootcamp scheduled for March 26 to 29, 2026. The bootcamp will feature pitch sessions, workshops, live evaluations and investor-style feedback aimed at strengthening the ventures’ readiness for growth and funding.
The initiative will culminate in the Student Venture Capital Grant Beneficiary Awards Day on March 29, where successful recipients of the ₦50 million funding will be officially unveiled.
The development highlighted the Federal Government’s ongoing commitment to fostering innovation, supporting student entrepreneurship and building a pipeline of scalable ventures capable of driving Nigeria’s economic transformation.
