A fresh debate has emerged around the success of Nigeria’s Student Venture Capital Grant as experts stress that mentorship, not just funding, will determine whether the initiative succeeds or fails.
The discussion follows renewed attention on the programme after an editorial published in a national newspaper highlighted the need for stronger implementation strategies to ensure long term impact on student entrepreneurship.
The Student Venture Capital Grant initiative, which provides seed funding to young entrepreneurs, has been described as a promising idea, but concerns remain about its sustainability without structured guidance and business development support.
Industry observers recalled that similar entrepreneurship development efforts were attempted in Nigeria in the 1990s under a partnership involving the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, known for its EMPRETEC programme focused on enterprise development and training.
The initiative reportedly involved collaboration with Nigeria, but faced setbacks after counterpart funding challenges stalled implementation at the time.
A former participant in the earlier programme explained that mentorship was a central pillar of the original design, with experienced professionals assigned to guide young entrepreneurs through the early stages of business formation.
He noted that lack of experience, poor financial management, weak marketing strategies and insufficient discipline were major reasons many start ups fail in Nigeria, even when funding is available.
According to him, providing capital alone is not enough, as many young business owners struggle to separate personal finances from business funds, leading to early collapse of otherwise promising ventures.
He also warned that without proper guidance, many beneficiaries of the current grant scheme may repeat past failures experienced in similar programmes decades ago.
The mentor explained that a large percentage of start ups globally fail within their first five years, adding that Nigeria’s situation is often worsened by limited business planning, weak operational structure and lack of managerial experience.
He emphasized that mentorship helps bridge critical gaps in knowledge, ss and professional discipline required to sustain new businesses.
Experts argue that structured mentorship programmes, alongside funding, could significantly improve the success rate of student led enterprises and ensure that government investment in youth entrepreneurship yields measurable results.
They further called for stronger institutional support systems to monitor beneficiaries, provide continuous training and ensure accountability in the use of funds.
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