Grooming Centre has announced the commencement of the 2025 edition of its University Grant Award, offering N20 million to support postgraduate and undergraduate students across Nigeria. Now in its seventh year, the initiative aims to drive educational advancement and research in key development areas.
The Head of Special Projects at Grooming Centre, Mr. Chikezie Egbulefu, made the announcement during a press briefing, where he reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to education through its flagship initiatives — the Lady Kate Okafor Scholarship Scheme and the Grooming Centre University Grant Scheme. He disclosed that over N850 million has already been spent on bursaries and the administration of these schemes since inception.
The 2025 call for entries officially opened on Monday, July 21, and will close on Friday, October 10. Interested students are expected to submit a soft copy of their research project through the grant portal at [www.groominggrant.org/apply].
“This grant is part of Grooming Centre’s wider mission to support research in areas such as social enterprise, microfinance, financial inclusion, rural development, and poverty alleviation,” Egbulefu said. “It was envisioned by the Governing Council and management as a tool to catalyse innovation and knowledge-building among Nigerian students.”
The last edition saw a record 150 winners selected from 550 entries, including 100 undergraduates and 50 postgraduates. Among the postgraduate category were four doctoral students, raising the total number of PhD winners to 11 since the programme began in 2019. From just 25 recipients in its debut year drawn from eight institutions, the scheme has expanded to 150 winners from 55 institutions in 2024. In total, 543 students — 305 undergraduates and 238 postgraduates have benefitted from the grant.
Deputy Manager, HR and Admin at CREM Consulting, Mrs. Lydia Aromolaran, provided further insights into the eligibility criteria. Applicants must be registered students of Nigerian public or private universities at either undergraduate or postgraduate levels. Eligible research topics include but are not limited to: microfinance, MSMEs, rural development, youth development, women empowerment, digital finance, technological innovation, and poverty reduction.
Applicants must also submit a recommendation letter from their project supervisor or Head of Department. Submissions should demonstrate originality and be rich in data. The required proposal should be 10 to 20 pages long and include key components such as the introduction, problem statement, research objectives and questions, significance, scope, literature review, and theoretical framework. Empirical sources must be recent, between 2019 and 2025. Final submissions must be in Microsoft Word format.
Chief Operating Officer of CREM, Mr. Clifford Onyeike, added that the grant’s technical committee would continue to track and assess the progress of past winners as part of the Centre’s ongoing evaluation and impact assessment strategy.
The 2025 Grooming Centre Grant marks another opportunity for Nigerian students to contribute meaningfully to research in areas central to inclusive growth and national development.
