The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has announced intention to promote entrepreneurship and create employment opportunities for Nigerian youths.

 The apex bank says it will award N500m grant to graduates and undergraduates in Nigerian tertiary institutions of learning.

This was disclosed by the CBN on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, in a report, titled; ‘Guidelines for the implementation of tertiary institutions entrepreneurship scheme’.

According to the report; “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 scheme will accommodate 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.

Agribusiness would include; production, processing, storage and logistics, while information technology would include application/software development, business process outsourcing, robotics and data management.

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, the report explained.

However, the interest rate will be 5% per annum and 9%. This grant scheme will take effect from March 1, 2022 or as may be prescribed by the CBN.

Interested qualified youths must apply on the dedicated online portal and provide all requisite documentation to support the application.

The CBN noted that it will give priority to innovative entrepreneurial activities with high potential for export, job creation and transformational impact.