A Nigerian university, Godfrey Okoye University, located in the south eastern part of the country has offered to grant startup funds to projects of its students upon graduation from the university’s entrepreneurship training program.

Here Is What You Need To Know

• Tagged, the Student Training for Entrepreneurial Promotion (STEP), the program aims to equip students with the entrepreneurial skills and startup funds needed to start their own business after graduation. 
• Several students form a corporate team, and each team receives a seed fund of about $100 to set up a very small business that they will need to grow over time. 
• Their products are sold in and around the university, but also on various online sales platforms. 
• Profits from these small businesses can be as high as $260 per day. 
• While institutions and universities are increasingly introducing entrepreneurship training and courses into academic programs in Africa, very few are offering start-up funds to students. 

Read also: What African Ride-Hailing Startups Must Learn From Uber And Lyft’s Frustration In California

• Godfrey Okoye University is breaking new ground with the STEP program, and the initiative has been very successful since its launch in 2018. 
• Young people represent 60% of the unemployed in Africa according to figures from the World Bank. 
• On the other hand, the International Labor Organization (ILO) reports that more than 90% of people between the ages of 15 and 24 in Africa have precarious jobs, usually in the informal economy. 
• Failing to contain this young and ever-growing population, support for job creation such as this could transform this demographic aspect into a development opportunity for Africa. 
• Godfrey Okoye University has thus succeeded in changing the narrative of entrepreneurship education, moving from theoretical teaching to the realization of small business projects.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer