The Federal Government has opened applications for the second cohort of its Student Venture Capital Grant (SVCG) to the tune of N2.5 billion.
National Coordinator of the special programme operations and implementation unit at the federal ministry of education, Adebayo Onigbanjo announced this during a press briefing in Abuja on Friday.
Onigbanjo informed that 50 student-led ventures who scale through the selection process successfully would receive up to N2.5 billion in aggregate equity-free funding.
He said the first cohort of the initiative attracted 17,914 applications from 404 institutions across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) within three weeks, with 45 beneficiaries eventually selected.
Under the initiative, also known as the next moonshot initiative, Onigbanjo said each successful venture would be eligible for a grant of up to N50 million to develop and scale its business.
According to him, the programme targets student entrepreneurs with science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)-based business ideas across Nigeria.
He said the government was seeking high-quality applications from student innovators across the country, adding that only 50 outstanding ventures would eventually 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 said the initiative aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s renewed hope agenda and is part of the ministry of education’s Nigeria education sector renewal initiative, particularly its STEM pillar.
Onigbanjo said the programme was designed to bridge the gap between innovation and access to capital, noting that many young Nigerians had viable ideas but lacked the resources to take them to market.
“Nigeria does not lack innovative young people. What many lack is the opportunity and capital to take these ideas further,” he said.
Furthermore, he challenged tertiary institutions to move beyond their traditional academic functions and become incubators for innovation, enterprise and problem-solving.
“Our universities, polytechnics and colleges of education must increasingly become places where ideas are developed, solutions created and businesses born,” he said.
Onigbanjo disclosed that applications would undergo an initial artificial intelligence-assisted screening before 10 human evaluators assess them.
He said shortlisted candidates would make virtual presentations, while finalists would participate in a three-day boot camp before pitching their ventures physically to an evaluation committee.
Additionally, winners would also receive six months of mentorship through corporate and entrepreneurial organisations, including Lafarge, Cellulant/Childtech, Powerhouse, Co-Creation Hub/African Stalking, LifeBank, Future Africa, GetEquity and One Health.
Meanwhile, Onigbanjo said the student venture team and its partners would embark on a nationwide application roadshow from September 6 to 30 to widen access and boost participation.
According to him, the roadshow would cover 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.
