The Federal Ministry of Youth Development has announced the launch of the NiYA Startup 2.0, opening applications to young entrepreneurs and startups across Nigeria’s formal and informal sectors. The initiative will support one hundred youths with a combined funding pool of one hundred million naira as part of the ministry’s growing investment in youth-led innovation.
The second edition is designed to be more inclusive, with simplified entry requirements to accommodate self-employed young people, micro-entrepreneurs and early-stage founders who may not have formal business registration.
Comrade Ayodele Olawande, Minister of Youth Development, said the 2.0 edition reflects the government’s commitment to building a structured pipeline for young innovators. He highlighted that the first edition supported seventeen startups and helped participants access mentorship, visibility and early-stage investment opportunities. The second edition is expected to scale impact significantly by onboarding one hundred founders into an expanded development pathway that links the NiYA Academy, NiYA Jobs and the NiYA Startup platforms.
The ministry stated that the funding will be combined with targeted mentorship, business development support and sector-specific mentorship.
The ministry expects high participation from all geopolitical zones and has encouraged young Nigerians to apply early through the official NiYA Website Officials also noted that updates, guidelines and pitch timelines will be released in the coming weeks.
What to watch: application turnout across states, the diversity of selected ventures and post-funding tracking of the selected one hundred youth founders.