The Federal Government has disbursed N2.25 billion to 45 students across the nation’s tertiary institutions.

The beneficiaries are among 65 student innovators shortlisted for the Student Venture Capital Grant initiative of the government.

The Student Venture Capital Grant is an initiative of the Federal Government aimed at supporting student in developing businesses and innovations. It provides students access up to N50 million in equity-free funding.

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, accompanied by the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, presented the cheques to the select 45 beneficiaries at the event.

Speaking, Alausa charged tertiary institutions to refocus their outlook towards innovation and move away from teaching theory.

Alausa enjoined governing councils to focus on ensuring the emergence of vice-chancellors and rectors with innovative mindsets.

He stressed that the initiative was targeted at unlocking the innate innovative potential of Nigerian students so that it does not die in the lecture rooms.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, said the innovation remains an inevitable pathway to harness Nigeria’s greatest resource, the youthful population, and transform it into a formidable and future-ready human capital.

She charged the students to build projects that impact society beyond focusing on profit-making at first while some of the beneficiaries commended the Federal Government for the gesture and promised not make the best out of it.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Muntari Dandutse, stressed the need to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
The National Programme Coordinator for the initiative, Adebayo Adebajo, said the Federal Government looked forward to having 200,000 applications for the SVCG in the next cohort.