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NANS Innovate 2026

The flagship entrepreneurship summit of the National Association of Nigerian Students. For students building real businesses while still in school — pitch, network, and win funding.

Entries Closed Check Status

Top 20 Finalists Pitch

36 + FCT All States

Free No Fees

Entry Portal

Business Name

What NANSInnovate is really about

NANSInnovate 2026 is a national summit organised by the NANS Headquarters under the leadership of Comr. Akinteye Afeez (BABTEE) to find and support the students already running businesses across Nigeria's tertiary institutions.

A lot of students are quietly building real businesses on the side. This is a chance to bring them into one room with investors, mentors, and industry leaders — and let the best ideas compete for actual funding to grow.

The programme runs for a week — learning, networking, mentorship. It ends with a national pitch competition where the top 20 student entrepreneurs compete for transparent funding to grow their businesses.

National Pitch

Top 20 finalists pitch on stage for business funding.

Networking

Meet investors, industry leaders, and other student founders.

Mentorship

One-on-one guidance from people who've built businesses.

Funding

Transparent prizes for the strongest business ideas.

Who Can Enter

Eligibility

You need to meet all of these to enter.

Currently enrolled Nigerian student At any recognised university, polytechnic, or college of education in Nigeria.

A business idea or existing venture Either something you already run, or a solid idea you want to launch.

Valid student ID card Current, not expired. Any format (JPG, PNG, or PDF).

Business proposal document Word format (.docx), max 10 pages. Nothing fancy — just clear and complete.

Nigerian citizen From any of the 36 states or the FCT.

No fees, no payments Entry is completely free. If anyone asks you to pay for anything — it's a scam. Report them.

How To Enter

Five steps to submit

Takes about 15 minutes if you have your documents ready.

Get your documents ready

School ID (photo or PDF), business proposal (.docx), and optionally your CAC or SMEDAN certificate if you have one.

Fill the entry form

Personal details, school info, business info. Pick your business category and whether it's new or existing.

Upload your files

Drag and drop, or click to browse. We accept JPG, PNG, PDF for IDs and .docx for the proposal.

Write your pitch (100 words)

Short and honest. What's the business, why does it matter, what will you do with the funding?

Submit and save your code

You'll get a code like NANS-Inv-2026-K7T. Screenshot it — that's how you check your status later.

Business proposal requirements

Format: Microsoft Word (.docx) only

Length: Max 10 pages

Font: Times New Roman, size 12

Spacing: Single line

Max size: 5MB

Business categories

Your business must fit into one of these:

Production/Manufacturing Trading/Merchandise Service Agriculture

Questions

Common questions

If your question isn't here, contact grants@nanshq.org

A national summit by NANS Headquarters (under Comr. Akinteye Afeez) that brings student entrepreneurs, investors and mentors together for a week. It ends with 20 finalists pitching for business funding.

Any Nigerian student currently enrolled at a tertiary institution (university, polytechnic, college of education) with either an existing business or a solid idea worth pursuing.

No. Entry is 100% free. NANS never charges for this at any stage. If anyone asks for money — even someone claiming to be from NANS — report them immediately.

Four categories: Production/Manufacturing, Trading/Merchandise, Service, or Agriculture. Pick the one that best fits what you do.

Your school ID card (photo or PDF, max 2MB), your business proposal in Word .docx format (max 10 pages, 5MB), and optionally your CAC or SMEDAN certificate if you have one.

You get a registration code (e.g., NANS-Inv-2026-K7T). Save it. After entries close, we review everything, shortlist the top 20 for the pitch, and winners get funding.

Go to the status page and enter your code.

Ready to submit?

Takes about 15 minutes. Have your documents ready and you can be done today.

Check Status

NANS never charges any fee. If asked to pay, it's a scam.