Dangote Launches N1trn Scholarship Scheme for 1.3m Nigerian Students

• FG hails initiative as bold, transformative

• Govs, Onni of Ife, others declare full support for initiatives

Sunday Okobi and Funmi Ogundare

The Chairman of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) and President of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has announced a N1 trillion scholarship programme to expand access to education and promote academic excellence across Nigeria.

He said the initiative, which will commence in 2026, would support over 1.3 million students from all 774 local government areas of the country, with N100 billion committed annually for 10 years.

At the unveiling of the initiative in Lagos yesterday Dangote disclosed further that the programme is targeted at Nigeria’s most vulnerable learners, and is structured into three categories: Aliko Dangote STEM Scholars – 30,000 undergraduates in public universities and polytechnics will receive tuition support of up to N600,000 per year;  Aliko Dangote Technical Scholars-5,000 TVET trainees will get essential study materials and technical tools; and MHF Dangote Secondary School Girls Scholars- 10,000 girls in public schools will receive uniforms, books, and learning supplies, prioritising states with high out-of-school rates.

To be implemented in partnership with NELFUND, JAMB, NIMC, NUC, NBTE, WAEC, and NECO, he added that the scheme would use a merit-based, fully digital system for selection and disbursement. Dangote emphasised that the initiative is a strategic investment in human capital, aimed at reducing inequality and driving national development.

According to him, “The initiative aligns with the government education reforms and will be overseen by a Programme Steering Committee chaired by Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Dauda Bage,” as he pledged 25 percent of his wealth to sustain the programme, with progress reviewed under Dangote Group’s Vision 2030 strategy.

He added that: “The programmes are to be implemented through a strong collaboration with national institutions including NELFUND, JAMB, NIMC, NUC, NBTE, WAEC, and NECO, ensuring transparent beneficiary selection, verification, and efficient digital disbursement.”

Many heads of all the agencies were present at the launch.

Dangote said the intervention is aimed at Nigeria’s most vulnerable learners, noting that financial hardship, not lack of talent, is the primary reason many Nigerians drop out of school.

The Dangote Group president said: “This is not only charity. This is a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future. Every child we keep in school strengthens our economy. Every student we support reduces inequality. Every scholar we empower becomes a future contributor to national development.

“Our young people are not asking for handouts. They are asking for opportunities. They are asking for a chance to learn, to grow, to compete, and to succeed. And we believe they deserve that chance.”

Dangote, who said the ADF, which has historically focused on health and nutrition as core areas of human capital development, emphasised that the current economic climate has made educational support an urgent imperative.

According to him, “No young person should have their future cut short because of financial hardship. We are stepping forward to ensure students stay in school and pursue their ambitions. This initiative is more than financial aid. It is an investment in human capital, with ripple effects on economies, societies, and future generations. When a student gets a scholarship, entire communities stand to benefit from it.”

Dangote, who also unveiled his $100 billion vision 2023 to accelerate Africa’s industrialisation, and added that their plans are not theoretical but are in hard numbers, described education as “the foundation on which every prosperous society is built,” calling it the most powerful equaliser and the strongest engine of social mobility.

Despite this, he warned that many talented Nigerian students continue to face financial pressures that threaten to push them out of school.

Their dreams, he said, are limited not by ability but by opportunity. “We cannot allow financial hardship to silence the dreams of our young people-not when the future of our nation depends on their skills, resilience, and leadership,” Dangote said.

Noting further that this concern informed the Foundation’s new Education Support Initiative, Dangote stressed that the effort is intended as a starting point rather than a standalone solution.

“A single organisation cannot solve Nigeria’s education challenges alone. The government has a role. The private sector has a role. Communities and families have a role. When we work together, we can transform education, and with it, transform Nigeria’s future,” he stated.

Addressing young Nigerians directly, Dangote said: “Your dreams matter. Your education matters. Your future matters. We believe in you. We are investing in you. And we are committed to ensuring that you do not walk this journey alone.”

The Foundation, he said, would use a merit-based and fully digital system for verification, disbursement, and monitoring, working in partnership with NELFUND, JAMB, NIMC, NUC, NBTE, WAEC, and NECO. Dangote said the focus would be on measurable outcomes, including retention, completion rates, and post-school impact. He noted that the vision behind the initiative is to give every deserving child the chance to learn, unfettered by cost, free to dream, and equipped to achieve.

To oversee its implementation, a Programme Steering Committee has been constituted, chaired by His Highness Justice Sidi Dauda Bage, Emir of Lafia. Other members include former vice-chancellors, senior education administrators, technical advisors, and representatives of Dangote’s family.

Dangote also disclosed that the programme’s long-term sustainability is tied to his formal commitment to allocate 25 per cent of his wealth to the Aliko Dangote Foundation, adding that the progress on the initiative will be reviewed in 2030 as part of Dangote Group’s Vision 2030 strategy.

He commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda in the education sector, alongside the Federal Ministry of Education, SUBEBs, and state governments, for “deliberate and steady efforts” to support learners amid economic pressures.

In his remarks, the Vice President, Kashim Shettima, who lauded Dangote for his vision in business and national development, said the new intervention demonstrates the critical role of private sector actors in national development.

The vice president noted that Nigeria’s demographic growth makes urgent investment in education indispensable, warning that “a population becomes a liability only when it is uneducated.

“Alhaji Aliko Dangote, through his far-reaching philanthropy, has set in motion the single largest private sector education support intervention in the history of this country. What he has done here today is a lesson to each of us. This is nation-building in its purest form.”

Shettima highlighted ongoing reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), strengthened basic education infrastructure through UBEC, expanded TETFUND interventions, and accelerated technical and vocational programmes.

He said these reforms are aimed at improving Nigeria’s poor Human Capital Index ranking and preparing young people for a skills-driven global economy. Describing Dangote’s philanthropy as “structural and long-term,”

Shettima added that the initiative aligns strongly with the government’s priority of expanding equitable access to education.

According to him, “No nation surpasses the aspirations of its most committed patriots. “The legacy of Alhaji Aliko Dangote reminds us that greatness is not measured by wealth but by the number of lives one lifts from the shadows into the light.”

The Vice President added that the Aliko Dangote Foundation programme would widen opportunities for thousands of learners and bolster the deferral government’s efforts to build a competitive workforce.

He, therefore, called for stronger collaboration between the government, the private sector, and development partners to address persistent gaps in the education system.

In his presentation, the Education Minister, Tunji Alausa, described the initiative as “pure human capital development,” saying it aligns with the Tinubu administration’s education sector renewal plan of transforming Nigeria from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based economy, and it’s significant because every local government area will benefit.

He said that by the end of the first decade of the execution of the scholarship programme, it is estimated that over 170,000 girl children would have gone to school.

In his remark, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, while speaking on behalf of the 36 state governors in Nigeria, also commended the initiative and pledged the governors’ full support.

The Chairman of the Programme Steering Committee, His Highness Justice Sidi Dauda Bage, Emir of Lafia, while lending his voice, also said the scheme is unprecedented in Nigerian history, and praised Dangote’s patriotism in reinvesting his wealth to uplift other Nigerians.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, said Dangote’s impact in driving private-sector transformation remains unmatched, describing the new initiative as both transformational and a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future.

He recalled how ADF had come to the aid of his community during a devastating communal feud that led to the destruction of several properties.

In her virtual remark from the United States of America, the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, said the scholarship scheme would provide an environment for children to learn and for families to prosper.

The scholarship programme represents the most extensive private-sector scholarship commitment in Nigeria’s history, and reinforces ADF’s mission to expand opportunities, drive social impact, and enhance the well-being of individuals and communities across the country.