CBN Sets To Support Undergraduates, Graduates With ₦500m Grant

The Central Bank of Nigeria has revealed it's plan to dole out five hundred million naira to students in the Nigerian tertiary institutions.

In a statement made available to newsmen yesterday, the apex bank said the grants is targeted at promoting entrepreneurship as well as reducing unemployment in the country.

Ezenwoko's Blog reports that the statement titled ‘Guidelines for the implementation of tertiary institutions entrepreneurship scheme' noted that top Universities and Polytechnics will benefit from the initiative.

The nations' bank stressed that it will give priority to innovative entrepreneurial activities with high potential for export, job creation and transformational impact.

The CBN revealed that activities to be covered under the scheme would include innovative start-ups and existing businesses owned by graduates of Nigerian polytechnics and universities in areas such as agribusiness, information technology, creative industry, as well as science and technology.

The statement read partly: “Five top Nigerian polytechnics and universities with the best entrepreneurial pitches/ideas shall be awarded as follows: first place – N150m; second place – N120m; third place – N100m; fourth place – N80m; and fifth place – N50m.”

The appex bank explained further that agribusiness would include production, processing, storage and logistics, while information technology would include application/software development, business process outsourcing, robotics and data management.

It also noted that creative industry would include entertainment, artwork, publishing, culinary/event management, fashion, photography, beauty/cosmetics; while science and technology would include medical innovation, robotics, ticketing systems, traffic systems, renewable energy, and waste management.

According to the report, the interest rate will be five per cent per annum and nine per cent effective from March 1, 2022 or as may be prescribed by the CBN.

“The beneficiary must apply on the dedicated online portal and provide all requisite documentation to support the application,” the CBN said.