The Federal Government has opened the application portal for the Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG).
The programme aimed at funding student-led ventures with up to N50 million in equity-free grants, is part of the Renewed Hope Agenda and seeks to nurture student innovations into commercially viable, high-impact ventures.
The S-VCG, also known as the STEMM Up Grant, was first announced in July this year and was set to formally commence on August 2.
The grant specifically targets full-time undergraduate students in their 300-level and above across accredited Nigerian tertiary institutions. Selected student-led projects will also gain access to mentorship, incubation services, and business development support to help scale their ventures and address real-world challenges.
The programme is being implemented in partnership with the Bank of Industry to ensure transparency, accountability, and measurable outcomes.
Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Boriowo Folasade, who disclosed this in a statement, said the ministry has the president’s directive 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,” the statement quoted the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, to have said.
The ministry explained that the scheme provides up to N50 million in equity-free grants to student innovators in STEMM fields.
“The scheme offers up to N50 million in equity-free grants to student founders with innovations in STEMM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medical Sciences),” the statement added.
According to the ministry, in addition to funding, successful applicants will have access to: Intensive incubation programmes; Mentorship from experienced entrepreneurs and industry leaders; and Full access to tools and resources necessary to scale startups.
The Ministry said the measures are intended to ensure student ventures are market-ready and positioned for long-term success.
It further added that to give students a global edge, it was partnering with Google, using Gemini AI to power evaluation agents embedded in the application portal for fair and efficient assessment.
The ministry said applicants who submit valid projects will also receive a one-year Google Gemini Pro license and access to premium learning resources to enhance technical and entrepreneurial skills.
It further stated that students will begin their entrepreneurial journey with top-tier global tools, creating a strong innovation pipeline from idea to market-ready ventures, and encouraged all eligible students enrolled in accredited tertiary institutions to apply. “Proposals should demonstrate scalability, market relevance, and the potential to solve critical national or global challenges. The application portal is accessible at https://svcq.education.gov.ng,” the ministry added.
In preparation for the rollout, a high-level stakeholder engagement was held in Abuja, bringing together Vice Chancellors, Provosts, Rectors, student leaders, academic staff, and development partner
