7 Top Entrepreneurship Grants In Nigeria (2023)

Entrepreneurship grants in Nigeria come in many different types; there are some that are specific to certain areas of industry, while others are generally open, regardless of what line of business the entrepreneur is engaged in. Furthermore, there are entrepreneurship grants available to Nigerians, but which are funded by international organizations; while others still are provided by local organizations.

Interestingly, Nigeria also has a few donor bodies that offer grants not only to Nigerians but also to people all over the continent. This means there are plenty of opportunities for Nigerians to get grants, so as to set up, and expand their business operations.

Even though the available grants for businesses in Nigeria do not meet the demand on ground, the impact they make is already quite visible, as there are hundreds of start-ups in many different sectors of the economy, and there is potential for growth. Knowing where to get grants for business can go a long way in bringing entrepreneurs’ dreams to reality.

List Of Entrepreneurship Grants In Nigeria

Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Foundation

The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Foundation is the largest private-sector financier in Africa. This foundation was established by Nigerian career banker Tony Elumelu, with support from international donors. The Tony Elumelu Foundation is open to business ideas, or businesses that have been in existence for less than 5 years.

This foundation has been in existence since 2015, and has provided seed capital to about 15,847 young businesses; empowering them with a non-refundable $5000, and giving them twelve weeks of business management training, with access to an impressive list of business mentors, sometimes including Tony Elumelu himself.

For more information about this foundation please contact:

Website: www.tonyelumelufoundation.org

Website: www.tefconnect.net

Access Bank 5 Million Naira Women Grant

Access Bank 5 Million Naira Women Grant is a program initiated by Nigerian tier one commercial bank Access Bank, to provide seed funding for women entrepreneurs with proven business ideas. This is a rather new program, but has already been successfully implemented in Nigeria, and is now being extended to 9 other African countries.

The Grant is available to women entrepreneurs who have built innovative businesses, and who need seed funding to expand their businesses. The program also provides expert training to help applicants grow their businesses into scalable ventures that can create employment opportunities and help grow the economy of their countries and the continent in general.

For more information about this grant please contact:

Website: www.womenpreneur.ng

Leap Africa Social Innovators Programme

Leap Africa Social Innovators Programme is one of the better-known entrepreneurship grants in Nigeria. For several years, this programme has provided financial support for young entrepreneurs with the skills and effective tools to bring about positive change and development. If you have ideas that can be turned into sustainable businesses, then you can apply for the Leap Africa Social Innovators Programme.

This programme has inducted 136 people into its fellowship and maintains a faculty numbering about 215 successful business persons who have in-depth knowledge of the African business environment.

For more information about this programme please contact:

Website: www.leapafrica.org/sip/

D-Prize Poverty Intervention Program

D-Prize is a program that is designed to provide grants to entrepreneurs that have designed businesses, or NGOs that can reduce or end poverty. Please note that this is not just a donor agency that wishes to provide finance for NGOs; it is also looking to provide funding for sustainable businesses. That means the business should be able to make profit so as to remain sustainable, while at the same time making an impact on poverty reduction.

Some of the areas where this program likes to focus on include: Agriculture, Education, Clean Water, Energy, Healthcare, and Businesses To Boost Livelihoods. The program is also willing to fund other sectors, as long as there is clear evidence as to how the proposals will reduce the rate of poverty.

Please bear in mind that the organizers want to see a plan as to how the idea will be implemented; this is because they have already seen several ideas, but have also noted that many of them have delivery gaps; which means the plans look good on paper, but they often fail to deliver on their promises.

For more information about this foundation please contact:

Website: d-prize.org

Orange Corners Kingdom Of Netherlands Grant

Orange Corners Kingdom Of Netherlands Grant is a grant made by the Government of the Kingdom of Netherlands, for developing countries. This grant is available for entrepreneurs from Nigeria. The goal is to empower the youth to develop their potential in business by providing them with funding, and the necessary skills to successfully establish themselves in business.

Orange Corners does not just provide seed capital and then watch the young people misuse it. There is also a 6-month incubation program that applicants must attend so as to help them get the skills that they will then put to use to make the most of the seed capital.

For more information about this programme please contact:

Website: www.orangecorners.com/country/nigeria

Kickstart Powered By International Breweries Foundation

Kickstart is a well-known entrepreneurship funding program that is powered By International Breweries Foundation. This is the philanthropic arm of International Breweries PLC, a maker of alcoholic beverages in Nigeria.

Kickstart provides funding for youth-owned businesses. Aside from providing money, the programme also provides training, and technical support for the beneficiaries, to enable them to make the most of the funding they are provided with.

Kickstart is also operational in several African countries such as South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, and Tanzania. Some core areas of interest for this programme include agriculture, recycling of used packaging, water management, renewable energy, and so on.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://reg.smetoolkit.ng/program-apply/kickstart-nigeria-2021

 Transforming Nigerian Youth

Transforming Nigerian Youth is a grant awarding programme that aims to bring like-minded entrepreneurs who have the skills and the desire to bring about some change.

This programme is designed to bring them together, incubate their ideas, and provide seed capital to help their business ideas fly. This is a programme targeted at youth and women, who are involved in Micro, Small, and Medium businesses. The programme encourages applicants to be innovative and to realize the potential of their businesses.

The programme is a transformational one; it aims at transforming the mindsets of the Nigerian youth- helping them turn to entrepreneurship, rather than looking for jobs after school.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://reg.smetoolkit.ng/program-apply/transforming-nigerian-youths

SC Women In Tech Incubator

SC Women In Tech Incubator is a programme designed to provide grants to women that work in technology development or maintenance.

The people behind this understand that this is a male-dominated field; and that women need some extra push in order to make a statement in this sector. Therefore, the SC Women in Tech Incubator programme targets women in the early parts of their careers in technology.

The programme provides financial support, as well as technical assistance to help them succeed in their careers. This program operates in Pakistan, Nigeria, and other places.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://reg.smetoolkit.ng/program-apply/sc-women-in-tech-incubator-witi-3

Creative Business Cup Nigeria

The Creative Business Cup Nigeria is a way of bringing together entrepreneurs with bright business ideas, and making them pitch their ideas.

This is a competitive way of presenting their ideas because they are all trying to outdo each other for the prize. Please note that this programme is strictly for the creative industries; for those that are engaged in design, leisure activities, fashion, publishing, music, toys and games, as well as computer software production.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://reg.smetoolkit.ng/program-apply/creative-business-cup-nigeria

AgroHack Challenge

AgroHack Challenge is a collaborative effort between Mastercard and some local funders. The purpose of this programme is to sieve out innovative ideas that can add value to, and improve the agricultural sector. When the agricultural sector is more productive, the production capacity of the manufacturing sector can also be improved.

AgroHack is interested in funding ideas that are involved in improving crop yield, improving storage, transportation, and distribution of agricultural produce.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://reg.smetoolkit.ng/program-apply/agrohack-challenge-2021

Agritech Challenge

The Agritech Challenge is a collaborative effort between the United Nations Capital Development Fund, Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation, and several other international bodies to do something about the declining food security in Africa.

Agritech Challenge is designed to improve the financial health of small hold farmers. The programme supports agritech, and agri fintech businesses to enable them perform better, thus ensuring that farmers are motivated to keep producing.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://www.uncdf.org/finlab/agritechchallenge

Pitch Agrihack

Pitch Agrihack is sponsored by Heifer International which sponsors development projects around the world. The programme is designed like a competition so that entrepreneurs can pitch their ideas against one another, and the winning idea gets to go home with the cash prize.

This programme only accepts ideas that can develop the agricultural sector; thereby providing more profits for the farmers, and more food for the population.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://genafrica.org/pitchafrica/

UNICEF Innovation Fund 2021 For Start-ups

UNICEF Innovation Fund 2021 For Start-ups provides funds for fresh startups in the form of investments. However, these funds are not just provided to any kind of business ideas; they are provided to businesses that have the potential to benefit humanity.

This programme favors such startups as software development, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Data Science.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://www.unicef.org/innovation/apply-AI-ML-digitalservices

 AYEEN Financial Grants

Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (A.Y.E) is committed to providing financial empowerment for young entrepreneurs across Africa. This is a pan-African organization, so while it provides funding to Nigerians, it is not restricted to any one country. The organization aims at facilitating trade between African countries; thus boosting the economy of the whole continent.

A.Y.E is looking for outstanding African entrepreneurs, who will have something to offer. This is usually small businesses in the early stages of formation, that need financial assistance. The grant is open to various sectors of the economy.

The donor will not only provide money but will also give technical assistance. The business owners and businesses will also be duly monitored for a period of one year.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://ayeorganization.com

Lagos State Entrepreneurs Trust Fund (LSETF)

The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) is a funding organization established by The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund Law 2016. The aim of the provision is to provide financial support to residents of Lagos State who are entrepreneurs, and who may have innovative ideas that can create jobs, wealth, and prosperity.

Hopefully, this will help provide more jobs and reduce the instances of criminality within the state. The trust fund will invest in new enterprises whether they are Micro, Small, or Medium Enterprises. According to available figures, the programme has already been largely successful; it has provided over 100,000, and provided funding for 705 businesses.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://lsetf.ng

CBN Creative Industry Financing Initiative

The Central Bank of Nigeria in conjunction with the Banker’s committee has created the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI) aimed at providing funding to people who work in the creative industry. This includes Designers, Student Software developers, Movie Production, Movie Distribution, Information Technology, and so on.

Applicants must be Nigerians and must have businesses domiciled in the country. They must also own tech companies or be engaged in the creative industry.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://www.cbn.gov.ng

GroFin Fund

GroFin Fund is a donor organization that provides financial support for small and growing businesses (SGBs) across Africa and the Middle East. The organization is particularly interested in innovative businesses that have the potential to make an impact in the long term, thus providing jobs, lifting populations out of poverty, and generating wealth.

The grant is open for Nigerians, as well as for citizens of Ghana, Zambia, Egypt, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Uganda.

For more information about this Grant please contact:

Website: https://www.grofin.com

Related:

Finally

There are several entrepreneurship grants in Nigeria, although they are not very well known. These grants provide opportunities for entrepreneurs to get seed funding that can help them turn their visions into reality.

While applying for grants, it is important to read the eligibility requirements, so as to ensure that it is a good fit for the business one intends to embark on.