Nigeria offers ₦200k–₦2M loans to 500,000 young entrepreneurs

The Federal Government launched the YOUTHCRED for Entrepreneurs programme on 7 August 2025. It offers loans from ₦200,000 to ₦2 million to 500,000 young entrepreneurs through the Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP) under the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.

CREDICORP Managing Director Uzoma Nwagba said eligible applicants aged 18 to 35 qualify based on responsible credit behaviour, cash flow and repayment capacity rather than collateral as detailed in the programme launch. Loans are delivered through regulated financial institutions. The programme forms the latest phase of the broader YouthCred scheme that earlier targeted NYSC corps members and employed youths.

Applicants must complete mandatory digital financial literacy modules on the youthcred.com portal before accessing funds via the official registration portal. The modules cover money skills, credit management and responsible borrowing. Disbursement to first applicants has already begun. The scheme requires no collateral or guarantor and aims to steer young Nigerians away from unregulated lenders.

The YouthCred initiative aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and his June 12 Democracy Day pledge to reach 400,000 young Nigerians with consumer credit as part of the national rollout. Earlier phases launched at NYSC orientation camps in Ipaja, Lagos and Abuja during the initial Abuja launch events. The broader scheme targets young people across all 36 states and the FCT with products ranging from ₦5,000 to ₦5 million at near single-digit interest rates.

YOUTHCRED for Entrepreneurs expands the original target of 400,000 beneficiaries to include an additional 500,000 young business owners. State-level registration drives, such as the one in Enugu, are already underway as reported in ongoing state campaigns. The programme builds formal credit histories for participants through salary-linked or cash-flow-based repayment.

Young founders and small business operators gain access to structured finance without traditional collateral barriers. This reduces reliance on high-interest digital loan apps and creates a documented credit record that can support future borrowing. Employed youths aged 18–39 can still access up to ₦5 million under separate YouthCred tracks that include a six-month moratorium and interest as low as 2 percent monthly under the expanded consumer credit framework.

The scheme’s digital portal and financial-literacy requirement create new data flows for credit bureaus and open opportunities for fintech players working on alternative scoring models. Regulators and startups will watch repayment performance and default handling closely as the programme scales.

Through YOUTHCRED for Entrepreneurs, eligible Nigerians aged 18 to 35 can access financing from N200,000 to N2 million, based not on inherited wealth or collateral, but simply on responsible credit behaviour, cash flow and repayment capacity delivered through regulated financial institutions. — Uzoma Nwagba, Managing Director, Nigerian Consumer Credit Corporation (CREDICORP)

Readers should monitor the youthcred.com portal for application updates and watch for state-level rollout announcements. Early repayment data will indicate whether the collateral-free model sustains scale across Nigeria’s youth population.