The Nigerian Government has opened the portal for eligible Nigerians to access the N75 Billion Nigeria Youth Investment Fund (NYIF). The fund is accessible to youths between the ages of 18 to 35 with viable business ideas.
The fund is aimed at empowering Nigeria’s 68 million youth by investing in innovative ideas and skills with the purpose of making them entrepreneurs.
NYIF was set up as an initiative by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and funded by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to encourage young entrepreneurs and improved job opportunities in Nigeria.
Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Dare explained in July that the fund will target 500,000 youth annually and a minimum of N25 billion will be disbursed each year in the next 3 years.
He said,” Each fund approval will range from N250,000 to N50,000,000 with a spread across group applications, individual applications, working capital loans set at 1 year and term loans set at 3 years with a single-digit interest rate of 5%.”
The fund will be disbursed via several channels like Micro Credit organizations, Fintech Organizations, and Venture Capital Organization registered with CBN.
He also said that applicants must be Nigerian citizens and are required to provide an approved means of identification and guarantors.
He hoped that the initiative by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration will be sustained by successive governments.
