The federal government has granted ₦50 million each to 45 students, selected from 65 finalists, from public and private tertiary institutions across the country, under the Student Venture Capital Grant.

Education minister Tunji Alausa, who unveiled the initiative on Sunday at the UNDP innovation hub in Ikoyi, said the S-VCG was a bold declaration by the federal government that the next wave of global innovation would  be driven by the Nigerian youth.

According to Mr Alausa, the programme represents a major shift in education policy, aiming to empower innovation-driven Nigerian students nationwide, and the grant provides equity-free funding, mentorship, incubation, and digital tools.

Reaffirming the government’s commitment to innovation under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, Mr Alausa noted that the beneficiaries would  move from ideation to commercialisation, becoming job creators and driving sustainable national economic growth.

The education minister explained that the beneficiaries completed a rigorous three-day bootcamp and pitched their innovations to industry experts, came from institutions nationwide and were selected from over 30,000 applicants.

Mr Alausa said the idea was to transform tertiary institutions from certification centres into hubs of innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development nationwide, for sustainable growth outcomes and impact.

He described the initiative as a transformative student programme that unlocks innovative potential and positions students as job creators nationwide, restating the growth agenda for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Mr Alausa further disclosed that the programme was designed as a national intervention to support the incubation of student ideas into products and services, with real-world impact on sustainable innovation and economic development goals.

He acknowledged partners UNDP, Google, and the Bank of Industry for supporting the initiative, which significantly strengthened implementation and expanded opportunities for student innovators across Nigeria and beyond.

The minister urged students nationwide to seize the opportunity, noting that successful companies often began as academic ideas that later evolved into global enterprises with support for innovation and access to funding.

Mr Alausa also mentioned that universities must move beyond teaching to become innovation hubs, driving national development through research, commercialisation and technology transfer for economic prosperity and societal advancement.

The minister encouraged the students to build businesses that create societal value and ensure sustainability through impactful solutions that address real-world challenges across sectors and foster inclusive economic development nationwide.

He also encouraged young innovators to support others as they succeed, promoting inclusive innovation for national development and ensuring knowledge sharing and collaborative ecosystem growth across institutions and sectors.

(NAN)