The Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG), a funding program that offers up to ₦50 million in equity-free grants to assist student-led innovations, now has an application online.
The Federal Ministry of Education’s Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, made the announcement in a statement.
The program’s goal, according to Education Minister Tunji Alausa, is to find innovative ideas in Nigeria’s postsecondary institutions.
“The President has urged us to search our postsecondary institutions for the next Moonshot.” We are searching for future Nigerian Unicorns whose roots will be established in our colleges and universities, not merely for projects. He stated, “This is an equity-free seed investment in Nigeria’s future.”
The Ministry claims that the program provides equity-free awards of up to ₦50 million to student entrepreneurs who have breakthroughs in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medical sciences) disciplines.
The Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda includes the S-VCG, commonly known as the STEMM Up Grant, which aims to develop student inventions into high-impact, financially viable businesses.
According to reports, the program officially launches on August 2 after being first revealed in July.
The curriculum is specifically designed for full-time undergraduate students in Nigeria’s approved tertiary institutions who are enrolled in courses 300 and higher.
In addition to cash, successful candidates will have access to business development assistance, incubator services, and coaching to help them grow their businesses and find answers to pressing issues.
The Bank of Industry is working with the initiative to implement it in order to guarantee accountability, transparency, and quantifiable results.
In addition to investment, a limited number of student-led startups will receive mentorship from seasoned business owners, intense incubation programs, and unfettered access to the tools and resources they need to expand.
The Ministry and Google collaborated to incorporate Gemini AI evaluation bots into the application platform in order to improve the evaluation process.
A one-year Google Gemini Pro license and access to top-notch educational materials to enhance their technical and entrepreneurial skills will also be given to applicants.
All qualified students were urged by the Ministry to submit suggestions that show scalability, market relevance, and the ability to address pressing national or international issues.
Additionally, it stated that students will start their entrepreneurial adventure with “top-tier global tools,” which will assist build a strong innovation pipeline from concepts to businesses that are ready for the market.
