The Federal Government has introduced a new nationwide initiative aimed at supporting student innovators with equity-free funding of up to N50 million for promising, student-led projects.
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The programme, known as the Student Venture Capital Grant, was announced on Monday in a statement issued by the Federal Ministry of Education and signed by Boriowo Folasade, Director of Press and Public Relations.
Speaking at the launch, Minister of Education Tunji Alausa described the scheme as a major step in the government’s drive to promote homegrown innovation. He said President Bola Tinubu had challenged the ministry to identify transformative ideas within higher institutions, stressing that the administration hopes to discover future unicorns that will emerge from Nigerian campuses. “This is an equity-free seed investment in Nigeria’s future,” the minister said.
The grant targets students developing solutions in STEMM fields—Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences. According to the ministry, the goal is to support ventures capable of addressing real-life challenges while demonstrating strong prospects for growth and commercialization. Beneficiaries will also have access to incubation centres, mentorship opportunities and advanced tools to support their development.
As part of the initiative, the ministry announced a partnership with Google to strengthen the programme’s evaluation process. Google’s Gemini AI will drive the automated assessment system on the application portal, while all applicants will receive a free one-year Gemini Pro licence and access to premium learning resources.
Applications are currently open to students enrolled in accredited tertiary institutions across the country. The ministry urged interested applicants to submit proposals that highlight scalability, market relevance and a clear capacity to solve national or global problems.
