By Felix Khanoba
The Federal Government has set aside up to ₦2.5bn in equity-free grants for 50 student-led businesses as it begins applications for the second cohort of the Student Venture Capital Grant.
Under the initiative, each successful student entrepreneur could receive as much as ₦50m to develop and expand a STEM-focused venture without giving up ownership or equity in the business.
The National Coordinator, Special Programme Operations and Implementation Unit of the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Adebayo Onigbanjo, disclosed this on Friday in Abuja during a news conference.
According to Onigbanjo, applications for the programme, popularly known as the “Next Moonshot Initiative,” are already open and will close on September 30, 2026.
“For Cohort 2, we are looking for quality applications from student innovators across Nigeria, from which 50 outstanding ventures will ultimately be selected.
“Successful applicants will be eligible to receive up to N50 million equity-free grant from the Federal Republic of Nigeria to develop and scale their businesses,” he said.
He explained that the funding was structured to enable student entrepreneurs grow their businesses without surrendering ownership stakes.
To boost participation nationwide, Onigbanjo said the Student Venture team and its partners would conduct an application roadshow between September 6 and September 30.
He said the campaign would cover nine tertiary institutions spread across the six geopolitical zones.
The institutions are the University of Abuja, Nile University, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bayero University Kano, Kano University of Science and Technology, Federal Polytechnic Kaduna, Ambrose Alli University, University of Lagos and Covenant University.
The coordinator added that a Campus Ambassador Programme would be introduced in another 20 tertiary institutions to further expand awareness and access to the grant.
Onigbanjo said the selection process would begin with Artificial Intelligence-assisted screening before applications were subjected to assessment by 10 human evaluators.
He added that shortlisted candidates would make virtual presentations, while finalists would participate in a three-day boot camp and subsequently pitch their ventures physically before an evaluation committee.
Beyond the funding, successful ventures are expected to benefit from six months of mentorship involving corporate and entrepreneurial organisations.
Among the organisations listed as supporting the mentorship programme are Lafarge, Cellulant/Childtech, Powerhouse, Co-Creation Hub/African Stalking, LifeBank, Future Africa, Get Equity and One Health.
Onigbanjo said the programme was part of the Federal Government’s efforts under President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and a key component of the Federal Ministry of Education’s Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative, particularly its STEM pillar.
He said the government was seeking to create an environment where students could turn innovative concepts into sustainable 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.
Giving an insight into the performance of the first cohort, Onigbanjo said the programme received 17,914 applications from 404 tertiary institutions across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory within three weeks.
He said 45 student-led ventures were eventually selected as beneficiaries from the first cohort.
The coordinator urged student innovators working in areas including health, agriculture, education, technology, energy, logistics and e-commerce to take advantage of the second funding window before the September 30 deadline.
