Dangote Foundation Unveils ₦1trn Scholarship for 1.3m Students

Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) and President of Dangote Group, has unveiled a ₦1 trillion scholarship program set to launch in 2026, aiming to boost access to education and foster academic excellence for 1.3 million students across all 774 local governments in Nigeria.

The initiative will invest ₦100 billion each year for a decade to support Nigeria’s most vulnerable learners, divided into three groups. The Aliko Dangote STEM Scholars include 30,000 undergraduates in public universities and polytechnics, each receiving up to ₦600,000 annually for tuition. The Aliko Dangote Technical Scholars consist of 5,000 TVET trainees who will be provided with essential study materials and technical tools. The MHF Dangote Secondary School Girls Scholars will support 10,000 girls in public schools with uniforms, books, and learning supplies, focusing on states with high out-of-school rates.

In collaboration with NELFUND, JAMB, NIMC, NUC, NBTE, WAEC, and NECO, the scheme will adopt a merit-based, fully digital process for selection and disbursement. Dangote highlighted it as a strategic investment in human capital, designed to reduce inequality and boost national development.

The initiative fits in with government education reforms and will be guided by a Programme Steering Committee led by the Emir of Lafia, Justice Sidi Dauda Bage. Dangote has committed 25 percent of his wealth to keep the programme running, with progress tracked as part of the Dangote Group’s Vision 2030 strategy.

The program will be carried out in close partnership with national institutions like NELFUND, JAMB, NIMC, NUC, NBTE, WAEC, and NECO, ensuring transparent selection of beneficiaries, proper verification, and smooth digital disbursement. Leaders of all these agencies attended the launch.

Dangote said the initiative targets Nigeria’s most vulnerable students, emphasizing that financial struggles, rather than a lack of talent, are the main reason many leave school.

“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,” he said. “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 noted that the ADF, which has traditionally concentrated on health and nutrition as key aspects of human capital development, now sees the current economic climate as making educational support a pressing priority.

Said he: “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.”

He 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 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,” he said. “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.”

Speaking directly to young Nigerians, Dangote said, “Your dreams matter, your education matters, and your future matters. We believe in you, we’re investing in you, and we’re committed to making sure you don’t walk this journey alone.”

He said the Foundation will adopt a merit-based, fully digital system for verification, disbursement, and monitoring, working with NELFUND, JAMB, NIMC, NUC, NBTE, WAEC, and NECO. Dangote emphasized that the focus will be on measurable results like retention, completion rates, and post-school impact. He explained that the goal is to give every deserving child the opportunity to learn—free from financial barriers, free to dream, and prepared to succeed.

To oversee 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 the Dangote 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.

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. He 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,” Shettima said. “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 aim to improve Nigeria’s poor Human Capital Index ranking and prepare young people for a skills-driven global economy. Describing Dangote’s philanthropy as “structural and long-term,” Shettima said the initiative aligns strongly with the government’s priority of expanding equitable access to education.

“No nation surpasses the aspirations of its most committed patriots,” he said. “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 will widen opportunities for thousands of learners and bolster the FG’s efforts to build a competitive workforce. He called for stronger collaboration between the government, the private sector and development partners to address persistent gaps in the education system.

In his presentation, 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 is significant because every local government area will benefit.

He said 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.

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

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