The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has announced a N50m Student Grant Venture Capital Initiative to support scaling student-led enterprises in Nigeria’s tertiary institutions.
Alausa said the initiative aims to bridge the gap between academia and industry by turning homegrown research into commercially viable products and services.
The minister made the announcement on Wednesday in Abuja when he inaugurated the Research and Innovation Commercialisation Committee.
He said the scheme, which will be anchored by TETFund in partnership with the Bank of India, targets undergraduate students in 300-level and above with viable business models and innovations ready for market expansion.
According to the minister, the development is aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s agenda of transitioning Nigeria from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-driven one.
“We have hundreds of thousands of young geniuses across our institutions. This fund is designed to unlock their potential and help them build globally competitive enterprises,” the minister said.
On her part, the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, described the inauguration as a landmark moment in Nigeria’s education and innovation history.
“For too long, research in our tertiary institutions has been reduced to tools for promotion rather than solutions for development. This must change,” she said.
In his response, the Committee Chairman, Dr. Tayo Aduloju, described the RICC as “a matter of national urgency”, noting that Nigeria’s research investment as a percentage of GDP is among the lowest when compared to peer nations.
