Top 5 Business Grants in Nigeria for Entrepreneurs

Attaining money for business is one of the challenges faced by many Nigerian Youths. The federal government and private organizations have tackled this problem by giving grants to business owners. Grants for SMEs in Nigeria will help entrepreneurs to strive and reduce the unemployment rate in the country. SMEs contribute 48 % to the national […]

General Apr 16, 2024 0 215 Add to Reading List

Top 5 Business Grants in Nigeria for Entrepreneurs

Attaining money for business is one of the challenges faced by many Nigerian Youths. The federal government and private organizations have tackled this problem by giving grants to business owners.

Grants for SMEs in Nigeria will help entrepreneurs to strive and reduce the unemployment rate in the country. SMEs contribute 48 % to the national GDP, accounting for 84% of employment.

Grants do not require repayment like business loans do. Instead, you simply need to apply for the grants by submitting a proposal and preparing a business pitch.

Here are the top 7 business grants in Nigeria for entrepreneurs, outlining details on eligibility, funding amounts, application tips, and more so you can kickstart your passion project.

Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP)

Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) has trained over 1.5 million young Africans and disbursed over USD$100 million in direct funding to 20,000 young African women and men, who have collectively created over 400,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The program launched in 2015 by one of Nigeria’s business tycoons Mr. Tony Elumelu is aimed at providing 10,000 USD in seed funding for entrepreneurs across Africa. Every year, the programme selects 1,000 entrepreneurs across Africa from a pull of over 50,000 applicants.

What it offers:

Non-refundable seed funding of $5,000
A world-class business training for 12 weeks
Access to TEF Alumni network with over 15,000 entrepreneurs across’ Africa
Mentoring and networking opportunities via Africa’s largest digital platform for entrepreneurs, TEFConnect.net.

To be eligible:

You must be 18 years of age and above.
Business must be based in Africa
Business must be for profit
Business must be 0-3 years’ old

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Mastercard Agribusiness Fund

Mastercard Foundation Agribusiness Fund is to unlock enterprise growth and catalyze, scale up, and sustain the creation of dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for young women and men.

The programme aims to support Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) across the agriculture, climate adaptation and digital economy sectors in 20 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa targeting the rural population with a large focus on agriculture.

What it offers:

It is estimated that the grant sizes will range from US$ 500,000 to US$ 2,500,000 depending on the size of SME and scaling potential.
The Fund will provide support to SMEs through four interventions:
- Challenge Fund intervention: Offering direct financial support to selected SMEs.
- Technical Assistance intervention: Adding value beyond financial support through technical assistance and capacity building.
- Connect intervention: Providing investor readiness support to the portfolio of selected SMEs and negotiating partnerships with potential financiers.
- Convening and Influencing intervention: Convening relevant stakeholders to encourage an enabling business environment that drives systematic change.

To be eligible:

You must be only for-profit, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
Existing Mastercard Foundation partners are eligible to apply only if they are applying for a different project other than the one supported directly by the Mastercard Foundation.
SMEs can apply in all three sector challenges with different applications per challenge that meet the specific eligibility criteria.
All challenges will seek proposals from SMEs that are innovative, commercially viable, and that will create dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for young women and men, young people with disabilities or refugee youth.

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Bank Of Industry Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) Programme

The Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) Programme is BOI’s effort at addressing the worrisome phenomenon of youth unemployment in Nigeria by building the capacity of the youths and funding their business ideas.

The YES programme is aimed at equipping young people with the requisite skills and knowledge to be self-employed by starting and managing their businesses.

What it offers:

8 weeks of extensive online Entrepreneurship and Business Management training which can test participants’ understanding and track their progress.
5 days of in-class Entrepreneurship and Business Management training covering the following five (5) modules:
- The business idea (value proposition and competition analysis)
- Business model (how will the business make money)
- Sales and marketing
- Running a successful business (ethics, compliance, operations, etc.)
- Financial planning: Financing of the businesses by BOI under its SME Cluster initiative.

To be eligible:

The applicant must be a Nigerian.
Must have a viable business idea within the 40 identified clusters that is operated, or will operate in Nigeria.
Must be within the age limits of 18 and 35. (proof of identity: International passport/Drivers License/National ID/Voters card required).
Must possess a minimum educational qualification of Ordinary National Diploma (OND).
Applicant must be able to carry out the application process online.

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MTN Yellopreneur Grant

MTN Yellopreneur Grant is an avenue to train young women in a bid to contribute to the reduction in women unemployment and advance women development in Entrepreneurship.

The MTN Yellopreneur Grant as a program, will train 1000 Nigerian women in entrepreneurship while also providing them with startup grants and loans worth N2million.

What it offers:

The MTN Yellopreneur Grant will train young 1000 female entrepreneurs in several profitable fields
The trained women are then provided with startup materials and capital worth up to N3m
A follow-up business plan and advices are further given to these women for sustainability of their businesses

To be eligible:

Be interested and passionate about entrepreneurship
Be a Nigerian young woman
Be ready to partake in the training and complete it

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Google for Startups Founders Funds

Google for Startups Founders Funds have provided more than $30 million to support Black-led startups in Africa, Brazil, Europe, and the United States, and Latino-led startups in the United States.

Through the Google for Startups Black Founders Fund Africa, Google is supporting early-stage, Black-founded startups on the continent. Google want to bridge the existing fundraising gap for Black startup founders in Africa’s fast-growing technology landscape.

What it offers

Access to capital: Equity-free cash awards to help you build and grow your business.
Custom Mentorship: Receive tailored product and leadership support from Google mentors and industry experts.
Leadership training: Become a more effective leader through research-based strategies and expert coaching.
Founder network: Connect and learn from fellow founders and access a peer-to-peer support network.
Google Cloud credits and support: Receive Google Cloud credits and dedicated support via the Google for Startups Cloud Program.

To be eligible:

Headquartered in Africa or has a legal presence on the continent
Building for Africa and a global market
Creating jobs, able to show growth potential to raise more funding, and making an impact