The Federal Government says the Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Business Incubation Certification, EIBIC programme aims to transform Nigerian students from job seekers into job creators and drive innovation-led economic growth.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, who said this while unveiling the programme in Abuja, described the programme as a strategic response to evolving global realities where technology continues to reshape industries and traditional employment opportunities decline.
According to the minister, Nigeria’s youthful population remains both a major asset and responsibility, stressing that conventional academic models alone could no longer address unemployment and employability challenges, as he explained that EIBIC was designed to embed entrepreneurship training across disciplines including engineering, medicine, law, sciences and the creative arts.
Alausa added that the initiative which would strengthen Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics and Medical Sciences, STEMM education, promote skills acquisition, enhance industry-academia collaboration and position education as a driver of economic growth, would operate through a structured multi-level model, beginning with entrepreneurship exposure at 100 level, progressive skills development at intermediate stages and full business incubation, mentorship and venture creation at the final stages.
He said the initiative had already been introduced in 14 universities in its first phase, adding that all federal universities, alongside selected federal polytechnics and colleges of education, would be onboarded by 2027 with full adoption across federal tertiary institutions targeted for completion by 2028.
Alausa directed vice-chancellors of participating universities to secure Senate approval for full integration of the programme before the end of April.
The 14 universities to offer EIBIC programme were selected from federal universities across the six geopolitical zones of the country.
They are: University of Lagos; Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Bayero University, Kano; Uthman Danfodio University, Sokoto; University of Benin; University of Port Harcourt and Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
Others are University of Ibadan; University of Maiduguri; Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi; University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; and University of Abuja.
Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie
