List of Available Business Grants in Nigeria & How To Apply (2024)

There are many types of grants in Nigeria that are given to entrepreneurs so as to help augment their enterprise or business. We will look at the business grants available Nigeria and how to apply for any of them.

A grant is defined as money or capital given to an individual or a business for a specific reason. While a business grant is equally an amount of money given to a business for the pupose of expanding and augmenting the enterprise. Grants are normally given by government or organisations and may be either refundable or not depending on the type. With this, it will be valuable to know the full list of available business grants in Nigeria, as we will be explain the eligibility and criteria on how to apply for it.

Types of Business Grants

There are various kinds of business grants which are offered depending on its nature. There is the: Direct grant, Repayable grant, Soft loan, and an Equity award which are awarded on different conditions.

List of Available Business Grants in Nigeria Currently

Here is a rundown of business grants available in Nigeria today, their qualification criteria and the type of funding they offer.

GroFin Fund

GroFin Fund is an independent organisations that offers business grants to African entrepreneurs. The Fund program centers around Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) and they aim at supporting independent venture through monetary grants. GroFin finance supplies to help the development of developing business sector, both subsidizing and concentrated business.

The Grant program finance Nigerian smaller scale, little and medium business (MSMEs) with their budgetary size of $100 million to develop small scale business outfits in the nation.

Qualification Criteria

There are certain prerequisites to meet before your business is approved for the Grant. One of such is that your turnover should be under $15 million. Your business assets should fall in the range of $100,000 and $1.5 million. The business must have ownership.

Shell LiveWire Funding

Shell Petroleum Ddevelopment Company offers this Grant for young entrepreneurs. This funding is meant to empower, train, and give subsidizing aids to youths so they can begin a business. However, a training program will be conducted to sucessful candidates so as to guide them in utilizing the grants in their business.

Qualification Criteria

The program is available for your business people whose age fall in the range of 18-30.
In line with the company’s plan to develop Nigeria’s oil and gas hub. All aplicants must be from Niger-Delta region or even the oil producing states in the country – Abia, Akwa Ibom, Imo, Edo, Rivers, Bayelsa, and Delta states, to be considered.

Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program (TEEP)

The Tony Elumelu Entrepreneurship Program (TEEP) is the most popular available business grant and a yearly empowerment program that is backed by a business tycoon Tony Elumelu, to offer grants to businesses in Nigeria. The program was incepted in 2015 and it aims to giving $10,000 to about 1000 business men/women to develop their enterprise. These number of people are chosen yearly from all over Africa with primary focus in Nigeria.

Qualification Criteria

The business must not be older than 3 years and candidate must be a lawful indigene or resident of any nation in Africa.

Bank Of Industry (BOI) Grants

Youth Entrepreneurship Support (YES) is a youth empowerment program set up by the Bank of Industry (BOI) to offers grants to youth so they can develop their business. The empowerment grants program is aimed at tending to the troubling issue of youth joblessness in the country by aiding these young people to develop their business setups and also improve their business ideas.

Equiping the youths with information and grants to set them up to be able to utilize and maintain their own outfits is the objective of the Empowerment Support program. About two months of escalated online Entrepreneurship and Business Management training is always organised for those under this support program.

Qualification Criteria

These are the criteria to be eligible for this grant:

• A Nigerian citizenship with an identity
• The age of the applicant should fall between the ages of 18 and 35 as the program is a youth focus initiative.
• The least required educational qualification should be an Ordinary National Diploma (OND).

Lagos State Entrepreneurs Trust Fund (LSETF)

The Lagos State Government set up the Employment Trust Fund (LSETF) in 2016, so as to mitigate the agonizing issue of unemployment in the State. The Grant is aimed at furnishing money related guides and also in help wealth creation for the citizens of the State.

Expanding Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is equally the objective of this grant as a budgeted total of ₦25 billion is put into aiding Lagosians in their businesses and also help them with the business ideas they should employ to augment their enterprises.

Diamond Bank BET Program

Diamond Bank launched a Grant called Building Entrepreneurs Today (BET) and the program is intended to help growing business people. The program shortlist 50 candidates each year from the list of applicants, and they are sent on a training to prepare them in enterprising/business for a time of a half year. After the preparation is finished up, the best 5 are awarded a grant to utilize as capital for growing their business.

Africa’s Young Entrepreneur Empowerment Nigeria (AYEEN) Financial Grants

This is a youth development program that is focused on engaging young entrepreneurs from Africa to be trained and given Grant to develop a business. Those who make it through are awarded grants as prizes, and with no stake in the business for the coordinators. After collecting the grant, it is being scrutinised and checked how it’s being used. Which means that the organizers of the program will be all around for a one year time frame to check on how you implement the fund.

Qualification Criteria

The main prerequisite for this program is that the applicant seeking for the grant must be a Nigerian and should reside in any of the states in the country.

African Women Development Fund

This is an empowerment initiative the is aimed at developing African women in businesses. It is a female-only grant that runs through the continent in empowering women. The African Women Development Fund gives grants to associations handling the issues of body and health rights, ladies’ monetary security, equity, leadership, investment business which concerns women.

How to Apply For Business Grants in Nigeria (2024)

Here is guide to lead you on applying for a business grant in any of the aforementioned grants givers this 2024;

Step 1: Draw Up A Professional Business Plan

This is the first thing you should have for you business. This means you need to draw an excellent marketable strategy for the enterprise. This is an importan record that you will use to offer your business to the Grant body, so as to increase your chances of being accepted.

Step 2: Define The Motive of Collecting Grant

Next for you is to know and have the direction for the business. Attempt to decide the thought process behind them giving you the grant, by asking yourself what reason they will grant you the Grant. Through this puzzling question, it will help you to set a motive for your business.

Step 3: Do The Application Procedure

After all is done, audit your application, ensure to make an additional duplicate for your own record and present the application through the predetermined medium by the grant body, and anticipate a favourable outcome.

Conclusion

This is our take on business grants that are currently available in Nigeria and how to apply for them. We were detailed these grants and further gave a guide on how to successfully apply for any of them.