Africa’s leading industrialist, Aliko Dangote, has introduced a sweeping N100 billion yearly education intervention designed to ease the financial pressures preventing millions of young Nigerians from accessing schooling.
The scheme, inaugurated in Lagos on Thursday, December 11, under the Aliko Dangote Foundation’s 100 Billion annual education scholarship initiative, is expected to surpass N1 trillion in cumulative value over the next decade.
Dangote explained that the programme will begin in 2026 by supporting 45,000 new students, expanding to 155,000 beneficiaries by its fourth year, and sustaining that level for ten years. Overall, the initiative aims to reach 1.3 million learners across all 774 local government areas.
The intervention is structured around four dedicated programmes targeting the areas where educational exclusion is most significant. The Aliko Dangote STEM Scholars will fund tuition for 30,000 undergraduates studying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in public universities and polytechnics.
Another 5,000 students in government-run technical and vocational institutions will receive annual support under the Aliko Dangote Technical Scholars scheme, complementing the Federal Government’s free-tuition TVET policy.
A separate programme, the MHF Dangote Secondary School Girls Scholars, will offer annual assistance to 20,000 girls from JSS1 to SSS3, with further support into tertiary education, especially in states with high rates of out-of-school girls. The Foundation will also launch an extensive teacher training initiative, starting with 10,000 STEM teachers in 39 government colleges serving MHF scholars, before expanding to teachers nationwide.
Dangote said the initiative targets Nigeria’s most vulnerable learners and noted that financial difficulty, not talent, is the primary barrier to school completion.
“This is not only charity. This is a strategic investment in Nigeria’s future,” he said.
He highlighted the Foundation’s long-standing belief that national progress is tied to the quality of education available to young people. A merit-driven digital system will manage verification and disbursement in collaboration with key partners.
Oversight will be provided by a Programme Steering Committee chaired by the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Dauda Bage. Dangote added that he has formally committed 25 per cent of his wealth to the Foundation to guarantee long-term stability, integrating the initiative into the Dangote Group’s Vision 2030 roadmap.
Comments