The Group President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has launched a N1 trillion education scholarship intervention for Nigerian students across three major levels.
Regarded as one of the most ambitious privately funded education programmes in Nigeria’s history, Mr Dangote made the announcement on Thursday in Lagos, noting that N100 billion will be committed annually to the scheme that will provide sustained financial support for more than 1.3 million learners over a 10-year period.
The initiative, to be run under the banner of the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) Education initiatives in Lagos on Thursday, is positioned as a strategic national investment rather than an act of charity.
Addressing guests in Lagos, Mr Dangote described the moment as a turning point for Nigeria’s education system.
He said education remains the strongest route to national development and warned that the country risks stagnation if bright young people continue to drop out of school due to poverty.
He said: “Today is a defining moment for us at the Aliko Dangote Foundation and, I believe, a significant turning point for education in Nigeria.
“Too many brilliant Nigerian students are being pushed out of school by financial hardship. Their dreams are stalled not because they lack talent or motivation, but because they lack support.”
Dangote further added that the Foundation cannot allow poverty to silence the ambitions of the country’s youth, noting that “no nation can rise above the quality of education it offers its young people.”
A 10-year structure
According to the Africa’s foremost industrialist, the Foundation will begin supporting 45,000 new scholars annually from 2026 and scale this to 155,000 yearly by the fourth year.
The programmes span STEM undergraduates, technical trainees, vulnerable secondary school girls and teacher training across the six geopolitical zones.
Explaining the rationale behind the STEM component, Dangote said: “STEM drives development. If Nigeria must compete globally, our young minds must have the tools to learn, imagine and innovate.”
On the Technical Scholars Programme, he stressed that a skilled workforce is central to national growth. “A nation that builds cannot prosper without people who know how to build,” he said.
The Foundation also prioritised girls’ education through a dedicated scholarship for public-school girls from JSS1 to SSS3. “No country moves forward when its girls are left behind,” he further reiterated.
Transparency and national coverage
According to the industrialist, the initiative is anchored on a digital, data-driven and verifiable scholarship system that will work with key national institutions including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO), among others.
The Foundation assured that beneficiaries of the fund will come from all 774 local government areas, allocated through a formula that accounts for levels of out-of-school children and demographic realities.
“Every application will be verified. Every disbursement will be digital. Every scholar will be tracked and supported,” Mr Dangote said, adding that the Foundation will measure success through retention, completion and long-term outcomes, not activity counts.
Backed by a family legacy
Mr. Dangote disclosed that he has committed a quarter of his wealth to the Foundation to secure the long-term sustainability of the initiative.
According to him, “the sustainability of the programme, which I expect to run for generations of the Dangote family, is grounded in my formal commitment to allocate 25 per cent of my wealth to my Foundation,” he said.
He added that progress will be reviewed in five years in line with the Dangote Group’s Vision 2030 framework.
Beyond the new programme, Mr Dangote affirmed that the Foundation will continue supporting early learning, university infrastructure and specialised schools.
These, he highlighted, include the Mu Shuka Iri early-learning programme in Kano, the Aliko Dangote School for Orphan Girls in Maiduguri and a N15 billion investment in the upgrade of Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Wudil, Kano State.
Collaborations
The industrialist commended President Bola Tinubu’s education reforms and the efforts of the state governments. He described collaboration as essential, noting that no single organisation can solve Nigeria’s education crisis alone.
“The government has a role. The private sector has a role. Communities and families have a role. When we work together, we can transform education in this country and, with it, transform Nigeria’s future,” he said.
In a message directed at young Nigerians, Dangote reaffirmed their importance to national progress, saying: “Your dreams matter. Your education matters. Your future matters. We believe in you. We are investing in you. And we are committed to ensuring that you do not walk this journey alone,” he said.
He closed with a call for wider participation. “The future of Nigeria must not be defined by the children we fail to educate. It must be defined by the millions we empower, uplift and prepare for leadership.”
