The Federal Government yesterday disbursed N2.25 billion to 45 students from tertiary institutions across the country under its Student Venture Capital Grant (S-VCG) initiative.
The programme, launched in December last year in Abuja by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, is designed to support student innovators in STEMM fields with up to N50 million in equity-free seed funding, alongside mentorship and incubation to foster campus-based startups.
The disbursement ceremony, held in Ikoyi, Lagos, featured the presentation of cheques to beneficiaries at the end of a three-week boot camp.
Dignitaries at the event included the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad; the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr. Bosun Tijani; and the Chairman of the Senate Committee on TETFund, Senator Mohammed Muntari, among others.
The 45 beneficiaries emerged from a pool of 65 finalists who participated in the boot camp. Alausa disclosed that over 30,000 applications were received from students in more than 400 tertiary institutions nationwide.