THE Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will support youths in tertiary institutions with grants to the tone of N500m to promote entrepreneurship and reduce unemployment.
The apex bank made the disclosure on Wednesday in a report titled ‘Guidelines for the implementation of tertiary institutions entrepreneurship scheme’.
It said, “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 CBN stated 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 report said agribusiness would include production, processing, storage and logistics, while information technology would include application/software development, business process outsourcing, robotics and data management.
The apex bank added that the 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 CBN 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 regulator.
The bank said beneficiaries must apply on the dedicated online portal and provide all requisite documentation to support the application.
It also noted that priority would be given to innovative entrepreneurial activities with high potential for export, job creation and transformational impact.
