Naija Funding Opportunities

If you run a registered Nigerian business with real, paying customers, the Drawbridge Grant is worth 20 minutes of your time. It's a straightforward cash grant, no equity, no repayment, from an investment firm using the grant to meet promising small businesses early. ProMoat Capital is giving two grants this January: ₦1,000,000 and ₦500,000. You don't pay it back, and the firm doesn't take any part of your company. If you run a registered Nigerian business with paying customers, you can apply. Applications close October 31, 2026. What Is the Drawbridge Grant? ProMoat Capital invests in small and medium businesses in Nigeria. To invest well, they need to meet good businesses early, and the best ones are usually busy working, not looking for investors. The grant is explicitly described as how the firm meets them. Every application is read by the investment team. Two businesses get the grant, and if the firm likes what you're building, they may also talk to you about inves...

  If you've gone through training at a Leventis Foundation Nigeria agricultural school, there's a real funding opportunity open right now to help you turn that training into a business. This isn't open to the general public. It's specifically for LFN trainees and ex-trainees. Leventis Foundation Nigeria's Concessionary Business Start-up and Business Expansion Capital is now open to current LFN trainees and ex-trainees. The programme offers access to up to ₦5 million to start or expand your agribusiness. The call confirms this is a concessionary capital facility, meaning the terms are more favourable than standard commercial financing. What Is the Leventis Foundation? Leventis Foundation Nigeria is a charitable company working with State and Federal Governments to train farmers in modern and sustainable agricultural methods. Established in 1987, the Foundation has remained a leading force in agricultural capacity development, operating six agricultural training schoo...

  If you're a developer, entrepreneur, or secondary school student with a bold tech idea, Zecathon 6.0 is Zenith Bank's flagship innovation challenge, and it's carrying the largest prize pool in the programme's history. Zenith Bank Plc has unveiled Zecathon 6.0, the sixth edition of its flagship startup competition and innovation programme. Delivered in partnership with Beyond Limits, this year's edition carries a ₦190 million prize pool and introduces the Future Innovators Challenge for senior secondary schools, alongside the established Hackathon and Startup Pitch Competition. Applications are free and open across Africa. What Is Zecathon? Zecathon is Zenith Bank's continental innovation challenge, now in its sixth year and run with Beyond Limits, an organisation focused on entrepreneurship development, tech ecosystem growth, and community empowerment. Zecathon continues to spotlight innovation across key sectors: FMCG, insurance, education, retail and e-comme...

If you run a Nigerian MSME and want free, practical business training with a real shot at grant funding, BizAid — the Development Bank of Nigeria's official platform — is a credible, government-backed resource worth using. BizAid is an initiative by the Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) aimed at providing financial assistance and support to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Nigeria. It serves as a platform for connecting entrepreneurs with the resources and tools they need to grow and thrive. The platform's mandate is to facilitate sustainable socio-economic development and positively impact businesses across the country. The Development Bank of Nigeria (DBN) itself helps small and medium businesses in Nigeria get financing by providing loans and guarantees through banks — BizAid is DBN's dedicated learning and opportunity platform layered on top of that core mission. What Is BizAid? Welcome to the BizAid platform, where the fusion of learning and funding converg...

If you're an HND graduate with 0–2 years of experience looking to break into engineering or technical sales, the Greenpeg Technical Trainee Programme 2.0 is a well-established, verified opportunity worth applying for in Lagos. The Technical Trainee Programme 2.0 is Greenpeg's commitment to closing Nigeria's engineering skills gap — training HND graduates on live projects, under the mentorship of professionals who've built and maintained plants across the oil & gas, food & beverage, and FMCG sectors. Over the course of the programme, trainees move from classroom fundamentals to site-based execution, with structured learning, real deliverables, and a clear path to a full-time role. Greenpeg Nigeria Limited delivers engineering, procurement, construction, installation, operations, and maintenance services across these sectors — this is a real, operating industrial company, not a training-only outfit. What Is the Technical Trainee Programme? This is the second editi...

If you're a Nigerian researcher, academic, or institution working in child/adolescent development, well-being, human-computer interaction, or AI impacts, OpenAI's new research grant programme is a genuinely major, global opportunity worth knowing about. OpenAI has announced a new program to fund research proposals that explore the intersection of AI and teen development. Submissions are open today through October 6, 2026, 11:59 PM PST. A panel of internal researchers and experts will review applications on a rolling basis and notify selected proposals on or before November 13, 2026. This is a direct, official OpenAI initiative — funded and administered by **OpenAI Group PBC — not a third-party or aggregator listing. What Is This Grant Program About? OpenAI welcomes proposals that can deepen understanding and generate evidence relevant to current and emerging discourse, including: - How teens use generative AI and how different patterns of use relate to developmental outcomes - ...

If you're a young Nigerian entrepreneur building a scalable, tech-enabled business, the GOSIMA Innovation Fund 2026 is a fresh, credible opportunity worth applying for — but the window is short. Young Nigerian entrepreneurs building scalable, technology-driven businesses can now apply for the GOSIMA Innovation Fund 2026, a business support and funding programme offering selected entrepreneurs access to an accelerator, expert-led training, business growth support and up to ₦10 million in grant funding. The programme is funded by Gosima Group and powered by SMFEST International. What Is the GOSIMA Innovation Fund? Beyond the funding opportunity, selected entrepreneurs will go through an intensive business accelerator designed to strengthen their businesses and prepare them for growth and investment. The programme is looking for young founders aged 18–35 with innovative businesses that can solve meaningful problems, create jobs, and scale. What Does the Programme Offer? Participants w...