As Nigerians, you are all too familiar with the challenges of bringing groundbreaking ideas to life.
In Nigeria, lack of funds for your business, education, and social amenities can be frustrating. Have you heard of the word ”Omo”?. Yes! When a Nigerian is tired of not being able to fund his/her business, you hear the word… meaning that it has become a serious matter. So how is a grant beneficial to Nigeria? Here are 5 benefits of grants to Nigeria. Also, we listed some of the disadvantages too and a list of grants available for Nigerians.
5 Benefits of Grant to Nigerians
1. Economic Empowerment and Job Creation
One of the most evident and major advantages of handouts for Nigerians is economic empowerment.
Grants enable people to start or develop enterprises without the burden of repaying large loans. In a world where many small company owners are unable to get bank loans owing to a lack of collateral or exorbitant interest rates, grants serve as a lifeline.
A grant allows a young Nigerian fashion designer to purchase sewing equipment, rent a modest business, or even launch a fashion label. A mechanic can upgrade his tools, while a farmer can purchase better seeds and fertilizers.
The ripple effect of this economic empowerment is job creation. When a small firm wins a grant and begins to expand, the owner frequently recruits more employees—tailors, marketers, assistants, salesmen, and so on. This helps to lower the unemployment rate and boosts the local economy.
2. Encouraging Innovation and Creativity
This is about encouragement and opportunity. Many Nigerians are gifted with great abilities in different niches such as tech, entertainment, art, etc. Financial support helps these people showcase people skills and talents and develop innovative solutions to real-world problems.
In Nigeria, where young people are inherently gifted and full of ideas, grants have become a driving force behind innovation. Grant programs have spawned several technological enterprises, agricultural advances, and digital solutions.
3. Promoting Education and Skill Acquisition.
Another benefit of grants to Nigeria is that they promote education and skill development, particularly among students who can’t afford education. Education is expensive, especially school fees, accommodations, hostels, textbooks, and others. Grants reduce this financial stress and enable students to continue their studies.
4. Supporting Vulnerable Groups and Community Development.
Grants support vulnerable sets of people such as widows, orphans, internally displaced persons (IDPs), and people with disabilities. There are rural communities in Nigeria that need basic social amenities such as clean water, electricity, schools, and healthcare.
Grants from government and international donors are often used to improve the living conditions of these communities.
Boreholes may be constructed in water-scarce places, clinics can be erected in underserved areas, and local cooperative organizations can be created to assist widows and jobless women.
One such project is the Nigerian government’s Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Grant, which is granted to severely impoverished households. Though not ideal, it has helped many families afford food, school fees, and other necessities.
Grants that target the grassroots benefit whole communities. They improve their overall health, safety, and productivity.
5. Reducing Poverty and Promoting Equality
Poverty is one of the most serious concerns in Nigeria. Grants are an effective instrument for alleviating poverty and closing the wealth gap.
Grants are more inclusive than loans, which generally benefit individuals with collateral, connections, or bank access. Many grant programs focus on low-income individuals, women, young entrepreneurs, and people from marginalized communities.
This makes grants a tool for social justice. They assist in leveling the playing field, allowing more Nigerians to follow their aspirations regardless of where they are from.
In the long run, grants assist in breaking the cycle of generational poverty. A donation of ₦100,000 can help a market woman break the cycle of poverty by allowing her to build her business, send her children to school, and live in dignity.
According to the National Social Investment Program (NSIP), over 2 million Nigerians have benefited from different grant-related schemes since 2016, reducing reliance and promoting long-term development.
One of the primary disadvantages of business grants is the very competitive application procedure. Grants are frequently limited in number and amount, resulting in fierce competition among businesses seeking the same funding opportunities.
Another disadvantage of business grants is the strict qualifying conditions that applicants must complete. Grant providers frequently have particular requirements that firms must meet before being eligible for financing. These criteria vary greatly depending on the grant program and may include characteristics.
Applying for a grant may be time-consuming. The application process needs thorough research and proper documentation, and the kind of proposal you apply with determines if the funders would respond positively to your need.
List of The 6 Available Grants in Nigeria
Here’s a rundown of the current business grants available in Nigeria, as well as the qualification criteria and funding options.
GroFin Fund is an independent company that provides business grants to African entrepreneurs. The Fund program focuses on Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) and aims to promote independent ventures through monetary awards. GroFin provides financing to promote the development of the growing business sector by subsidizing and concentrating businesses.
The Grant program funds Nigerian small and medium-sized businesses (MSMEs) with a budget of $100 million to develop small business outfits across the country.
Before your firm can be eligible for the Grant, it must fulfill certain requirements. One of these is that your revenue should be less than $15 million. Your firm assets should fall between $100,000 and $1.5 million. The business must be owned.
Shell Petroleum Development Company provides this grant to young entrepreneurs. This funding is intended to empower, train, and provide subsidies to young people so that they can start their businesses. However, successful candidates will receive training to help them use the grants in their businesses.
The program is available for your business people whose ages fall in the range of 18-30.
In keeping with the company’s plans to establish Nigeria’s oil and gas hub. To be considered, all applicants must be from the Niger Delta area or one of the country’s oil-producing states, which include Abia, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta.
3. Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP).
This is another well-known grant provider in Nigeria. This is sponsored and supported by business tycoon Tony Elumelu to provide grants to businesses. The initiative began in 2015 and intends to provide $10,000 to around 1000 businessmen and women to help them expand their businesses. This number of people is chosen annually from all over Africa, with a primary focus on Nigeria.
The business cannot be older than three years, and the candidate must be a lawful indigene or resident of any African country.
4. Bank of Industry (BOI) Grants
Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) is a youth empowerment initiative established by the Bank of Industry (BOI) to provide grants to kids to help them build their businesses. The empowerment grants program aims to address the severe issue of youth unemployment in the country by assisting these young people in developing their company setups and improving their business concepts.
The Empowerment Support program’s goal is to provide teenagers with information and funds that would enable them to use and maintain their outfits. Those enrolled in this assistance program are always given about two months of increased online entrepreneurial and business management instruction.
The eligibility conditions for this award are as follows:
5. Lagos State Entrepreneurs’ Trust Fund (LSETF)
The Lagos State Government established the Lagos State Entrepreneurs’ Trust Fund (LSETF) in 2016 to address the chronic issue of unemployment in the state. The grant is intended to provide financial guidance as well as to assist in the building of wealth for state people.
The award aims to support the growth of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Lagos with a budget of ₦25 billion. It also provides assistance with business ideas to help them expand their operations.
Diamond Bank launched a Grant called Building Entrepreneurs Today (BET), which is designed to assist growing businesses. Each year, the program selects 50 students from the applicant pool and sends them on a half-year training program to prepare them for entrepreneurial/business careers. After the preparation is completed, the top five are offered a grant to use as capital for expanding their firm.
