- Safiu Kehinde
The Federal Ministry of Education has officially opened the application portal for the N50 million Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG).
In what was described as a groundbreaking next Moonshot national initiative, the grant is reportedly aimed at transforming student-driven ideas into commercially viable, high-impact ventures.
The S-VCG launching, as announced in a statement issued on Monday by the Ministry of Education’s spokesperson, Folashade Boriowo, forms a central pillar of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
It was designed to cultivate a new generation of Nigerian innovation entrepreneurs capable of redefining the nation’s economic future.
The grant is open to all eligible Nigerian students enrolled in accredited tertiary institutions.
They are to apply through the official application portal: https://svcg.education.gov.ng
Applicants are advised to submit proposals that demonstrate scalability, market relevance, and potential to solve critical national or global challenges
In his address after the announcement, the Minister of Education, Chief Dr. Tunji Alausa underscored the national importance of the initiative.
The Minister, as quoted by Boriowo described the initiative as an equity-free seed investment.
“The President has challenged us to look for the next Moonshot within our tertiary institutions.
“We are not just looking for projects; we are scouting for future Nigerian Unicorns whose roots will be planted right here in our universities and colleges. This is an equity-free seed investment in Nigeria’s future,” he stated.
According to the statement, at the heart of the S-VCG is the mandate to ignite and support student-driven innovation by funding ventures that address real-world challenges with clear potential for scale and commercialization.
The scheme offers up to 50 million Naira in equity-free grants to student founders with innovations in STEMM fields Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Sciences.
Successful applicants are set to also be absorbed into a comprehensive support ecosystem that includes: intensive incubation programs, expert mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs and industry leaders.
They are also set to enjoy full access to Tools, platforms and resources required to develop and scale their startups
Through the Ministry’s partnership with Google, the search engine’s Gemini Al powers custom-built “evaluation agents” was embedded directly into the application portal to ensure fair, intelligent, and efficient review of submissions.
Additionally, every applicant who successfully submits a business project or innovation will receive a one- year free Google Gemini Pro license, along with premium learning resources aimed at strengthening their entrepreneurial and technical capabilities.
According to the Ministry, one of the key objectives of the partnership is to ensure that “our students begin their entrepreneurial journey with the very best tools available globally. We are building a powerful innovation funnel-from idea to market domination.”