Supporting young social entrepreneurs in Nigeria through project grants

Summary

This proposal builds on our last partnership with Ashoka by doubling down on what worked, funding $1,250 project grants for young social entrepreneurs in Nigeria to pilot community projects.

Last year, we partnered with Ashoka to find four young entrepreneurs in Nigeria with bold ideas for social enterprises.

A group of eight people in matching navy blue shirts with arms crossed, standing in front of a gray curtain indoors.

To help bring their ideas to life, we gave four grants of $1,250 each to these young entrepreneurs. They used the funds to launch pilot projects in their communities. Here’s what happened:

Saviour

Saviour, a 20-year-old social entrepreneur from Lagos, used her grant to run three programmes: the Green Student Fellowship, Climate Story Café Lagos, and Zero Heroes. Each aimed to turn climate education into practical action for young people.

Person in a gray sweater stands confidently with crossed arms on a wooden pathway near a body of water, surrounded by trees.

She launched the Green Student Fellowship on 10 February, bringing together students for structured learning. This included an online Climate 101 course, weekly expert-led classes, and support to design their own initiatives using a design canvas.

Alongside that, she pushed the public engagement side. For Climate Story Café Lagos, the venue was booked, and facilitators were contacted, with the event rescheduled to 11 April and a focus on driving registrations and preparing resources in the weeks ahead.

Two people wearing "Green Student Program" shirts stand outdoors, smiling. One holds an ice cream cone. Trees and a railing are in the background.

In the end, all three of her climate strands were a resounding success, including “Zero Heroes”, which taught students and teachers waste sorting and recycling.

Following the grant project, Saviour applied for the “Kofi Annan” fellowship and was selected as one of 14 people globally for 2025 to join the prestigious program.

Muhammad

Muhammad, a 20-year-old social entrepreneur from Kano State, used his grant to launch a “Working with Street Children” project in Sauna Kawaji (Nassarawa LGA), focused on protecting street-connected children and creating pathways to skills training and a community-based learning centre.

A man in traditional attire sits attentively in a classroom, with an open notebook in front of him. Others are seated behind him.

He began with a community-driven approach: an internal onboarding on 2 March to align the team and implementation plan, followed by a stakeholder engagement visit on 8 March to secure local buy-in from school governance reps, community-based organisations, vigilante groups, and other community members.

The early work centred on trust-building with local leadership. Meetings with the traditional head (Mai Unguwa) and the district head helped secure endorsement and integrate the project into existing community child welfare efforts.

A group of children and a teacher discuss electronics at a table, with wires and tools. A banner behind them mentions a project for street children.

By the end of the grant period, his initiative had moved beyond planning into tangible skill-building, providing tailoring and shoemaking skills to young people, including street children, with enough community support that expansion to other local governments was being considered.

Favour

Favour, a 20-year-old social entrepreneur from Cross River State, used her grant to fund the installation of a borehole that would provide free access to safe, clean water in the Bendi community (Obanliku LGA).

Two people happily test flowing water from an orange pipe outdoors, surrounded by seated onlookers under a canopy.

She selected Bendi after learning of a tragic incident where a 7-year-old child drowned while trying to fetch water from an unsafe well, which sharpened the urgency of building a safer water source.

After receiving the first tranche of the grant in February, she coordinated her team, secured community buy-in, and lined up drilling and plumbing contractors, with a key community meeting set for 22 March to lock in the borehole location and approvals.

As the work progressed, delivery pressures emerged. Material costs increased, and the project’s location had to change, creating a funding gap that required additional support.

A diverse group of people stands together at a construction site with a colorful tent and tropical trees in the background.

In the end, the borehole was successfully installed, and the project’s emphasis was not only on building infrastructure but on sustainability and local ownership. Community youth were taught practical skills and designated as “stewards” responsible for monitoring the water system.

The experience of navigating cost increases and a location change pushed her to strengthen her project management. Favour is now enrolled in a project management course to bolster her abilities for the future.

Flourish

Flourish, an 18-year-old social entrepreneur from Ekiti State, used her grant to run a mental health support group project, beginning with a hybrid support group session on healing from toxic parenting and childhood trauma.

Young woman speaks into a microphone, holding a phone, on a stage with a vibrant purple and pink backdrop, and a nearby standing fan.

She moved quickly into implementation by locking in the event logistics for an in-person session at Ekiti State University on 21 March (with Google Meet for virtual attendance). She confirmed the speaker, secured the hall booking, arranged refreshments for in-person participants, and procured materials like custom jotters and a banner to support delivery.

Publicity began ahead of the event, with social promotion underway, and early registration momentum was reported at over 30 registrations at that point.

A woman in a hijab speaks into a microphone, standing between two people, in front of a purple background.

By the end of the grant cycle, Ashoka reported strong impact through in-person support groups and a virtual conference, with growing reach and university backing. A related community health fair introduced “mental health passports” to help young people express themselves and better understand mental health in a simple, accessible way.

Conclusion

The partnership succeeded by pairing Kwanda's flexible grants with Ashoka's selection process and ongoing support. Ashoka helped identify and select high-potential young entrepreneurs, supported onboarding, and provided a simple structure for accountability and learning throughout the pilots.

Across the grant period, Ashoka convened regular check-ins and organised a WhatsApp group that became a peer-learning space. Grantees used it to share progress, troubleshoot delivery challenges, and exchange practical tools and encouragement.

Together, the result was four pilots that moved from ideas to community-level action. Each entrepreneur finished with clearer execution skills and a stronger track record to build on.

Next steps

Building on this, our community is now voting on a follow-on set of grants to trial the same approach with four more young entrepreneurs and test whether we can achieve similar outcomes in a new cohort.

If passed, these next grants will go directly to locally led pilots, with lightweight reporting and shared learning built in, so we can keep iterating what works, capture clear results, and scale impact responsibly.

Attachments

Please find the supportive attachments for your review here:

March Grant Report 1mb

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April Grant Report 1mb