Only 2 of the 32 identified S-VCG startups granted ₦50 million were led by women

Nigeria’s Federal Government disbursed ₦2.25 billion to 45 student-led startups through its inaugural Student Venture Capital Grant, and of the 32 ventures publicly identified from event coverage, women founded two.

The two are Hersyaic and EcoDry. EcoDry is led by Fadekemi Haruna, who was absent during the final pitch presentation at the programme’s closing event. The remaining 13 of the 45 winners have not been publicly named; even if some of those are women-led, women founders would still be a minority in the cohort.

The S-VCG, run by the Federal Ministry of Education in partnership with the Bank of Industry, selected its first cohort from 30,639 applications across 404 tertiary institutions. Sixty-five finalists attended a three-day bootcamp and pitched before a 12-member evaluation panel at the UNDP Office in Ikoyi, Lagos, before 45 were awarded equity-free grants of ₦50 million each. The programme targets STEMM disciplines and is part of the government’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

The 30 other identified startups are: Sunpod, Pup Industries, Waste2light, Fluxt, SaveBox, Oju Systems, Rewear, StocMed, Robo Farmer, Run-it, Pallo, RefreeG, WaterSam Global Technologies Limited, BetaLife Health, Mediby, Quadstores, Varsity Edge, CampusShelf, BickQR, BettaCoal, FaceTrust AI, Taxloop, Haven Health, TrustHost Web Technologies, Zeta, SmartCBT, Vecta, and CampusApathe. They came from Covenant University, University of Lagos, Lagos State University, Kebbi State University, Bayero University, University of Port Harcourt, and other institutions, spanning health technology, agritech, edtech, waste management, energy, legal tech, and fintech.

The Ministry did not publish gender-disaggregated data on applicants, shortlisted candidates, or awardees at the time of this report. Without it, whether the outcome reflects the composition of the applicant pool or the selection process cannot be determined.

What the outcome does reflect is a pattern that runs through Nigeria’s startup funding landscape. In 2025, of 98 Nigerian startups that collectively raised $442.8 million, female-led startups raised $3.3 million combined.

Across Africa in 2025, female-led startups raised 2.2% of the continent’s $3.2 billion total — the lowest share in four years, with 91% going to all-male founding teams. All-women teams secured 20% of grant funding on the continent that year, a figure that has not translated into proportionate equity investment. Research by Briter Bridges found that 61% of funding for women-only teams in Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa comes from grants, versus 31% for men-only teams, and women are more likely to receive additional grants than follow-on equity after an initial award.

The S-VCG’s organisers have announced that the programme will return in October for a second round.

Last updated: March 30, 2026