The Federal Government has announced the selection of 65 student innovators from a competitive pool of 30,639 applicants drawn from 404 tertiary institutions across Nigeria for the final stage of the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG), a flagship initiative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
The programme, designed to fast-track high-impact student-led ventures, provides up to ₦50 million in equity-free funding to support commercially viable innovations, strengthen entrepreneurship, and drive Nigeria’s transition to an innovation-led economy.
The milestone underscores the depth of creativity, problem-solving capacity, and entrepreneurial potential within Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, where students are building scalable solutions across critical sectors of national development.
Speaking on the development, the Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa, CON, described the initiative as a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future innovators and job creators.
“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. Through this initiative, we are building a strong pipeline of innovators and entrepreneurs who will drive Nigeria’s future growth,” the Minister said.
Launched in December 2025 in partnership with the Bank of Industry (BOI), the Student Venture Capital Grant targets student entrepreneurs whose ventures have reached the commercialisation stage, enabling them to scale, create jobs, and contribute meaningfully to economic growth through innovation.
The selection of the 65 finalists followed a rigorous, multi-layered and transparent evaluation process. Applications were first subjected to AI-enabled screening to assess eligibility, completeness, and alignment with programme objectives. This was followed by independent human validation to ensure fairness, accuracy, and integrity of the process.
Shortlisted ventures were then assessed by an evaluation committee drawn from government, industry, academia, and the investment community, using structured criteria including scalability, feasibility, founder capability, and overall impact potential.
As the programme advances to its final phase, the selected innovators will participate in an intensive venture development bootcamp scheduled for 26–29 March 2026. The bootcamp will feature pitch sessions, venture development workshops, live evaluations, and investor-style feedback aimed at strengthening each venture’s readiness for scale and investment.
Final funding decisions will be based on application scores, performance during the bootcamp, and the deliberations of the evaluation committee.
The programme will culminate in the Student Venture Capital Grant Beneficiary Awards Day, scheduled for Sunday, 29 March 2026, from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM, where the recipients of the ₦50 million venture funding will be formally announced.
This milestone reaffirms the Federal Ministry of Education’s commitment to advancing innovation, supporting student entrepreneurship, and building a sustainable pipeline of scalable ventures capable of driving Nigeria’s economic transformation.
ELIJAH ADEYEMI
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