Available Business Grants In Nigeria – Full List

A grant refers to an amount of money that is given to an individual or a business for a particular purpose. So, it will be highly beneficial to have access to the full list of available business grants in Nigeria. Usually, business owners apply for grants for them to start up or expand their businesses. There are several bodies and organizations both governmental and non-governmental, local and international offering grant opportunities to Nigerians. Applying for and actually getting a grant is not an easy job as there usually are strict procedures and requirements involved which varies depending on the body offering the grant.

AVAILABLE BUSINESS GRANTS IN NIGERIA

• Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP)
• Bank Of Industry (BOI) Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES)
• Grofin Grant
• Diamond Bank BET Programme
• Ayeen Financial Grants
• Lagos State Entrepreneurs Trust Fund (LSETF)
• Fire Africa Innovation Grants
• Federal Government Grants For Agriculture
• Cybertipline Grant
• YOUWin Connect Nigeria
• World Bank Grant For Small Business In Nigeria
• Social Intervention Fund
• Government National Social Investment Programme (N-SIP)
• Government Enterprise And Empowerment Programme (GEEP)

POPULAR BUSINESS GRANTS FOR NIGERIANS, ELIGIBILITY AND CRITERIA

• Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP).

The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Programme (TEEP) is an annual program that was stared by popular business tycoon Mr. Tony Elumelu. The program though runs in Nigeria is open to young entrepreneurs from all over Africa. The program was launched in 2015 and it aims to provide $10,000 seed fund for young entrepreneurs. Yearly, 1000 entrepreneurs are selected from all over Africa out of over 50,000 applicants.

Each program cycle starts on the 1st of January when the application process is thrown open until the 1st of March when it closes. Afterward, each received application is carefully reviewed by selected business experts in the country after which the best applicants are selected based on market feasibility, the competence of the team as well as clarity of financial models.

Eligibility Criteria

• i. Business must be domiciled in Africa
• ii. Business must be for-profit
• iii. Business must be less than 3 years old
• iv. Applicants must be older than 18years and must be a legal resident or citizen of an African country.

 

• Bank Of Industry (BOI)

The Bank of Industry (BOI) also runs a youth empowerment program for young entrepreneurs in Nigeria. The program known as Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) initiated by the BOI is aimed at addressing the worrisome issue of youth unemployment in the country by building the capacity of the youths and funding their business ideas. The YES program aims to equip youths with skills and knowledge to set them up to be self-employed by running their own businesses. Under this program, awardees are subjected to Eight weeks of intensive online Entrepreneurship and Business Management training. The online training is set up to test the participants’ level of understanding and also track their progress. Afterward, they attend a Five-day in-class Entrepreneurship and Business Management training. They are then sent for technical skills training in partnership with the various technical training and vocational institutes spread across the country.

Eligibility

• i. The applicant has to be a Nigerian.
• ii. The business idea must be viable and must be within the 40 identified clusters that is operated, or will operate in Nigeria.
• iii. Must be between the ages of 18 and 35 and this must be proven with an accepted means of identity.
• iv. A minimum educational qualification of Ordinary National Diploma (OND) is required.

Available Business Grants In Nigeria

• Grofin Fund

Grofin this is a body that has a vision of supporting small business via financial support which is located in Africa. GroFin fund supplies both funding and specialized business support to aid the growth of emerging market enterprises. Grofin focuses on Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) that are usually underlooked by other funds or grant providers. GroFin fund has a pool size of over $100 Million to fund Nigerian micro, small and medium business (MSMEs) all over the country.

Eligibility

• i. Your business must be established in an African country
• ii. Your business must be for profit.
• iii. Your business must have a turnover of less than $15 million and assets that are less than $6 million.
• iv. You need funds of between $100,000 and $1.5 million.
• v. The business must either be fully operated or partially operated by the owner.

 

• Diamond Bank BET Programme

The Building Entrepreneurs Today (BET) organized by Diamond Bank is designed to support budding entrepreneurs. Yearly, 50 applicants are shortlisted from the pool of the numerous applications sent in and the successful ones are trained intensively for a period of 6 months in entrepreneurial/business training. After the training is concluded, the top 5 are awarded grants as seed capital for expanding their businesses. The BET Program has gone on for 6 editions with 25 winners and over 150 business supports so far. The top 5 winners of the 6th edition got Three Million Naira (N3,000,000) grants for their businesses.

• Ayeen Financial Grants.

Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs (A.Y.E) program is committed to empowering young African entrepreneurs across the African continent by creating platforms that facilitate intra-trade between entrepreneurs all over the continent. Winners of this grant are awarded their prizes without any stake in the business for the organizers. However, the business owners and businesses will be well monitored for a one year period. The only criteria for this program are that the applicant must be a Nigerian that is resident in any of the states or the FCT.

• Lagos State Entrepreneurs Trust Fund (LSETF).

The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund (LSETF), was established by The Lagos State Employment Trust Fund Law of 2016 to tackle the menace of unemployment amongst residents of the state, provide financial aids and also help with wealth creation for Lagosians. The Fund is expected to directly invest the sum of ₦25Billion into helping Lagosians expand their Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (“MSMEs”) or acquire skills to ensure they get better jobs. The LSETF program is expected to financially support a target of 100 thousand MSMEs by the end of 2019, creating over 300 thousand direct and over 600 thousand indirect jobs as a result. So far, over 700 MSMEs have been touched by this program.

There are different types of grants and they are explained below.

TYPES OF BUSINESS GRANTS IN NIGERIA

• Direct grant: A direct grant is like a cash award that is given to an entrepreneur as part of the capital required for his or her business. A direct grant beneficiary is expected to come up with a very good percentage of the capital that is required.
• Repayable grant: A repayable grant is awarded to a business owner with the expectation that the grant sum will be repaid from future revenues generated by the business. This grant type does not attract interest unlike bank loans and it is usually written off if the business fails.
• Soft loan: A soft loan is similar to a bank loan but the repayment conditions are less stringent and more generous than those of a regular bank loan. The interest rates may be much lesser or there may be no charged interest at all. Also,  the repayment terms usually are for much longer time periods than applicable to bank loans.
• Equity grant: An equity grant allows the grant provider to inject some funds into a business and the grant provider in return takes an equity share in the business. When the value of the firm increases, the stake is usually returned back to the grant provider.

GENERAL STEPS TO TAKE WHEN APPLYING FOR AVAILABLE BUSINESS GRANTS IN NIGERIA

Firstly, you have to write a very good business plan.  This is a very important document that you will use to sell your business to the grant provider if he is to find you worthy of receiving the grant. Usually, grant providers will scrutinize your business plan to determine the viability of your business idea if you are yet to start or the chances of success of your business if you have started already. Ensure you carry house extensive research when crafting your business plan and consult those with more business experience for guidance.

After putting your business thoughts and ideas to paper, ensure you go through and understand the guidelines for the application process as violating guidelines will only guarantee failure.

Next step to take is consulting business owners who have actually competed for and won grants in the past. Seek their opinions and guidance as doing so will only further boost your own chance of securing a grant for your business.

A very sincere self-appraisal is required afterward to ensure you are convinced you actually have what it takes to apply for the grant and possibly win it. You have to determine if it’s worth applying for the grant and if you have the basic requirements such as skills, experience, and knowledge required to win a grant.

Next is to try and be in the mind of the grant provider. Try to determine the motive behind them granting the grant, ask yourself questions such as why they are giving the grant, what do they hope to achieve by giving the grant. If you can answer those questions correctly, it will help you to further tailor you grant application towards the needs of the grant provider thereby boosting your chances of winning the grant.

Afterward, start work on your application and carefully follow through. Avoid mistakes and ensure all required information is supplied. Abide by laid down rules and follow instructions.

Lastly, review your application, make an extra copy for your own record and submit the application through the specified medium to ensure it is received by the grant provider.

OUTLINE OF A TYPICAL SMALL BUSINESS GRANT APPLICATION

A TYPICAL GRANT APPLICATION WILL FOLLOW THIS ROUTINE:

• Business Concept: As an applicant for a grant, it is your duty to explain what your business is all about and how it will impact the society. Also, it is key to explain how your business stands out from competition to ensure its survival.
• Cost: You must then state clearly the amount of money you need to start or expand your business. State the full amount even if only part funds will be granted and be accurate with your figures.
• Duration: State the duration of time it will likely take to float your business or new idea.
• References: You are most likely not going to be given a business grant if you have no business idea although some business grants are specifically for young business starters. But, if you have passed successful projects that you have worked on in the past, you should add them to score some more points.
• Research: It is important to ensure you conduct relevant research findings to back up all your business claims. Back up all your business claims with relevant market findings, statistics, and data.
• Team: Lastly, it is equally important to include short portraits of all your team members and also explain how each of them will contribute to the idea and also state any special qualifications that may make them very suitable for such roles.

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CONCLUSION ON THE FULL LIST OF AVAILABLE BUSINESS GRANTS IN NIGERIA

This list looks at some of the top business grants available to business owners and starters in Nigeria. It offers a peep into what the application process looks like as well as the basic eligibility criteria.

Tag: List of Available Business Grants In Nigeria