Written by A new grant opportunity offers universities in the UK, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa the chance to partner on a program for student teams developing digital, green, and social enterprises. If you lead a higher education or research institution, this could be a way to shape impact, build networks, and accelerate innovation in student ventures.
Key Highlights
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Grant Value | Up to £60,000 |
| Number of awards | 1 ecosystem partner grant will be funded |
| Deadline | 31 October 2025, 17:00 GMT |
| Participating countries | Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, plus UK institutions in collaboration |
| Focus areas | Student‐led projects in digital, green, social enterprises, or combinations thereof |
| Teams | 16 university teams; each team has 5 students |
This call aims to strengthen the capacities of student ventures at universities by offering tailored support and mentorship. A few important aspects:
- In contrast with smaller project grants, this is an ecosystem grant, meaning it supports not only individual student teams but structures around them: mentorship, assessment, support frameworks, all aimed at helping ventures move toward commercialisation.
- The requirement for UK-lead and African-lead institutions working jointly means this is also about building sustainable collaboration beyond a one-off project.
- For student ventures, this offer goes beyond seed funding; it’s a chance to access strategic support: SWOT analyses, actionable frameworks, tools, and mentoring. These are often missing in early stage support, especially in many African university settings.
- If previous programs focused mostly on idea generation or small-scale pilots, this grant emphasizes progress toward implementation and commercial viability. That adds accountability and potential for impact.
Tips & FAQs
- Tip: Begin early. Even though the deadline is end-October, preparing a strong proposal needs time: securing institutional support, drafting joint plans with partners in both the UK and your country, gathering CVs, letters, budgeting.
- Tip: Be explicit on commercialisation. Proposals that clearly show how ventures can move beyond prototype into market adoption (or at least well-planned pilot deployment) are more credible.
- Tip: Clarify roles. Define who does what — UK lead, African lead, associated partners. Review eligibility carefully, especially capacity to handle funds and administrative requirements.
- Eligibility clarification:
- The UK lead must be a recognised higher education provider with degree-awarding powers or a similar institution.
- The African lead must be similarly a higher education institution, research or TVET/FE provider, and must be able to administer the grant.
- For-profit, non-educational organisations cannot receive the grant funds directly (beyond travel costs) but can be associated as partners.
- Common mistakes to avoid:
- Submitting after deadline (strict).
- Missing one of the required leads (UK or Africa) or not having the correct institutional type.
- Underestimating administrative or compliance requirements (e.g. ethical approvals, financial controls, letters of support).
Application Details
How to Apply
- Form a partnership: one lead institution in the UK + one lead institution in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria or South Africa. Include any associated partners as needed.
- Prepare proposal in English. Include project plan, SWOT for selected student teams, frameworks for support, evidence of capability.
- Gather required documents: budget template, CVs, support letters confirming institutional capacity and commitment.
- Submit via Good Grants platform before 17:00 GMT on 31 October 2025. (britishcouncil.org.ng)
Contacts & Resources
- For questions: SSAhighereducation@britishcouncil.org (britishcouncil.org.za)
- Download guidance documents (application guide, budget template) from British Council website. (britishcouncil.org.ng)