The Federal Government has opened applications for the second cohort of its Student Venture Capital Grant, with 50 outstanding student-led businesses set to receive up to N50m each.
The National Coordinator, Special Programme Operations and Implementation Unit of the Federal Ministry of Education, Adebayo Onibanjo, disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Friday.
Onibanjo said the initiative, also known as the Next Moonshot Initiative, would provide equity-free funding to student entrepreneurs with business ideas based on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
According to him, the application portal opened recently and would 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 grant was designed to enable student entrepreneurs to develop and expand their businesses without giving up equity or ownership.
To widen access to the programme, Onibanjo said the Student Venture team and its partners would embark on a nationwide application roadshow from September 6 to September 30.
The roadshow will visit nine tertiary institutions across the six geopolitical zones, including 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.
He added that a Campus Ambassador Programme would also be activated across 20 other tertiary institutions to further expand the initiative’s reach.
Onibanjo said applications would undergo an initial Artificial Intelligence-assisted screening before being assessed by 10 human evaluators.
Shortlisted applicants would then give virtual presentations, while finalists would attend a three-day boot camp and pitch their ventures in person to an evaluation committee.
He said successful ventures would also benefit from a six-month mentorship programme supported by corporate and entrepreneurial organisations, including Lafarge, Cellulant/Childtech, Powerhouse, Co-Creation Hub/African Stalking, LifeBank, Future Africa, Get Equity and One Health, among others.
According to him, the initiative is aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and forms a key component of the Ministry’s Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative, particularly its STEM pillar.
READ ALSO: 2027: Delta Lawmaker Seeks Court Order Recognising Him as NDC Governorship Candidate
Onibanjo said the government was committed to creating opportunities for students to turn 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, Onibanjo said the programme 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 from the first cohort.
The coordinator urged eligible student innovators in health, agriculture, education, technology, energy, logistics and e-commerce to submit their applications before the September 30 deadline.
