Tag Archives: Business Startup

NIYA STARTUP 2.0, ₦100,000,000 FOR NIGERIAN STARTUP & ENTREPRENEURS

LOCATION: Nigeria

The Federal Government has officially opened applications for NiYA StartUp Pitch 2.0. This initiative will identify and support 100 of Nigeria’s most promising technology startups, offering mentorship, funding opportunities, enterprise development assistance, and nationwide visibility. NiYA is designed to equip entrepreneurs with the essential skills, resources, and guidance required to scale their businesses successfully.

ELIGIBILITY:

Applicant must be aged 18–35 years 

Must currently live in Nigeria

Youth Founders only, with at least two co-founders (no solo entries)

A Completed NiYA Community Profile

A course Completion certificate from NiYA All submissions must be in English. This helps us ensure fairness and consistency during the review process

BENEFIT:

N100,000,000 funds for Nigerian Startup Entrepreneurs

Mentorship from experienced founders and industry experts

Enterprise development support to strengthen business structure

National visibility across media and government platforms

Opportunities to pitch before investors and partners

Access to the wider NiYA innovation and youth development community

APPLY

D-PRIZE CHALLENGES/STARTUP GRANTS

Application Deadline: 23 November 2025 at midnight PT (pacific time) 

LOCATION: Multiple Regions

D-Prize awards startup grants to entrepreneurs launching new organizations. They believe the world needs more social impact organizations, and we seed for-profit ventures, NGOs, and charities. They support organizations in any low- or middle-income country where extreme poverty still exists.

ELIGIBILITY:

D-Prize is for new organizations. Most of our awardees are first-time entrepreneurs. Most have not yet launched their organization, nor have they raised other funding. We especially encourage those from low- and middle-income countries to apply. See who we recently seeded.

We will consider applications from existing organizations only if your core focus is distributing an existing and evidence-based poverty intervention. We typically will not support organizations with more than 18 months of full-time operations or that have raised more than $30,000 USD in outside funding.

The seed support is meant to be the launching point for your organization that grows to large-scale. Follow our Application Process to design an initial test pilot of your larger vision. Submit your concept to our twice-annual competition. If selected, you will receive seed support to launch.

Round 1: Submit your two-page concept note and resume(s).  We receive 3000+ submissions per competition.

Round 2: The Top 5% of entrepreneurs are invited to answer short written questions. You will have two weeks to draft and submit.

 Final round: Top entrepreneurs have phone and email interviews. The top 1% receive up to $20,000 to launch.

Award & Launch: Spend the next few months piloting your idea and building an organization that soon grows to a large scale

BENEFIT:

D-Prize awards startup grants of up to $20,000 to entrepreneurs launching new organizations.

APPLY