Application Deadline: October 11, 2026
The MTN Foundation ICT and Business Skills Training Programme is now accepting applications for its Phase 8 programme, offering young Nigerian women running microbusinesses access to digital and business skills training, with ₦100 million in equipment grants available to top-performing participants.
The program is designed to help young entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses through practical training in technology, digital tools, and business management.
Since its launch in 2018, the initiative has completed seven phases in partnership with organizations including Google, Oracle, KPMG, IBM, Digital Bridge Institute, Cisco, Meta, and Microsoft.
Across those phases, 15,362 young microbusiness owners have completed the program, which has been implemented across 29 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
What Phase 8 offers
The five-week program will use a blended-learning format combining:
- Self-paced online learning
- Instructor-led training sessions
- Masterclasses with experienced entrepreneurs
- A capstone business challenge
- Data support for participants
The goal is to help participants apply the skills they learn directly to their businesses.
Who can apply?
Applicants must:
- Be a Nigerian woman aged 18–35
- Own and manage a microbusiness
- Have operated the business for no more than two years
- Have a business located in Rivers, Abia, Ogun, Kwara, Kano, or Gombe State
₦1 million equipment grant
The biggest financial opportunity attached to Phase 8 is the equipment grant.
The top 100 participants will receive equipment grants of up to ₦1 million each, from a total grant pool of ₦100 million.
The grant is intended to help selected entrepreneurs strengthen and expand their businesses through access to productive equipment.
Application deadline
Applications close on October 11, 2026.
This is not simply a grant application. Participants first go through a five-week business and digital-skills program, with the equipment grants awarded to the top-performing participants.
Apply / Get program details: MTN Foundation ICT and Business Skills Training – Phase 8
