FG opens applications for N50m student venture grants

He added that a Campus Ambassador Programme would also be activated across 20 other tertiary institutions to further expand the initiative’s reach.

Onigbanjo said applications would undergo an initial artificial intelligence-assisted screening before being assessed by 10 human evaluators.

Shortlisted applicants, he said, would deliver virtual presentations, while finalists would attend a three-day boot camp and pitch their ventures physically before an evaluation committee.

Winners To Receive Mentorship

Beyond the financial grant, successful ventures will receive a six-month mentorship programme supported by corporate and entrepreneurial organisations.

The partners include Lafarge, Cellulant/Childtech, Powerhouse, Co-Creation Hub/African Stalking, LifeBank, Future Africa, Get Equity and One Health, among others.

Onigbanjo said the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and constituted a central component of the Ministry of Education’s Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative (NESRI), particularly its STEM pillar.

He said the government was committed to creating opportunities for students to transform innovative ideas into viable businesses.

“Nigeria does not lack innovative young people. What many lack is the opportunity and capital to take these ideas further.

“Our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education must increasingly become places where ideas are developed, solutions created and businesses born,” he said.

Reflecting on the first cohort, Onigbanjo said the initiative received 17,914 applications from 404 institutions across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory within three weeks.

He said 45 beneficiaries were eventually selected for the first cohort.

The national coordinator encouraged eligible student innovators working in health, agriculture, education, technology, energy, logistics and e-commerce to submit their applications before the September 30 deadline.