File photo: The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa.
• FG expects the application to rise for the SVCG in the next cohort.
The Federal Government on Sunday disbursed N2.25bn to 45 students across the nation’s tertiary institutions.
The beneficiaries are among 65 student innovators shortlisted for the Student Venture Capital Grant initiative of the government.
Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, accompanied by the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, presented the cheques to the select 45 at the event held at the UNDP Innovation Hub, Ikoyi, Lagos.
The SVCG is an initiative of the Federal Government aimed at supporting student-led businesses and innovations, with students able to access up to N50m in equity-free funding.
The University of Lagos led the awards, with eight of its students each receiving N50m in equity-free funding for their groundbreaking projects.
Some of the institutions that produced winners were the University of Ilorin, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Lagos State University, and Bayero University, Kano.
Most of the solutions focused on leveraging Artificial Intelligence and technology to address societal challenges.
Speaking, Alausa charged tertiary institutions to refocus their outlook towards innovation and move away from teaching theory.
Alausa enjoined governing councils to focus on ensuring the emergence of vice-chancellors and rectors with innovative mindsets.
He said, “For too long, our tertiary institutions have been seen primarily as centres for certification. But under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, we are redefining that narrative.
“Our institutions must now become centres of innovation, engines of enterprise and launchpads for global solutions.”
He stressed that the initiative was targeted at unlocking the innate innovative potential of Nigerian students so that it does not die in the lecture rooms.
Alausa said, “Now, our students will not only learn, but they will create knowledge. Now, students will not only acquire theoretical understanding, but they will also operate at the highest levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, applying transformative critical thinking and research skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge and solve real societal problems.
“Not only will they create new solutions, but through upscaling and commercialisation, they will transform these innovations into vehicles for sustainable growth and economic development, with catalytic impact on improving the health and wealth of Nigerians.
“Imbued with innovative and entrepreneurial skills, our graduates will now become job creators rather than job seekers. This is indeed the inevitable pathway to harness Nigeria’s greatest resource, our youthful population, and transform it into a formidable and future-ready human capital.”
He charged the students to build projects that impact society beyond focusing on profit-making at first.
“This initiative is not only about individual success—it is about national transformation.
“The SVCG will strengthen Nigeria’s innovation ecosystem across universities, polytechnics and colleges of education, build a pipeline of young entrepreneurs and job creators.
“It will also position Nigeria as a hub for deep-tech and innovation-driven growth. This is how nations rise, not by consuming ideas, but by creating them,” he said.
While expressing delight that over 30,000 students applied for the programme, he said the Federal Government was keen to double the grant amount if a tangible impact was recorded from the first set of beneficiaries.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, in his remarks, urged the student innovators to stay true to their ideas even amid failure.
He also urged them to compound their ideas and remain resolute in driving innovation that will make society better.
Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Muntari Dandutse, stressed the need to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Dandutse said the Senate supports projects such as the SVCG as it promotes entrepreneurship and builds the basis for scalable businesses.
National Programme Coordinator for the initiative, Mr Adebayo Adebajo, said the Federal Government looked forward to having 200,000 applications for the SVCG in the next cohort.
