The Jerry Eze Foundation’s Digital Empowerment Grant for young people in agriculture, manufacturing and technology has been increased from $300,000 to $525,000 following fresh contributions from prominent individuals and corporate organisations.
Founder of the Foundation, Jerry Eze, announced the development in a follow-up video shared on social media, where he provided updates on the initiative that was unveiled earlier in the week.
“Yesterday I told you that the grant is about $300,000 for about a 100 young persons,” Pastor Eze said, explaining that additional support had since been secured to expand the reach of the programme.
According to him, businessman Tonye Cole committed funding for 20 additional beneficiaries, contributing $60,000. He added that philanthropist Tony Elumelu also sponsored 20 young persons, providing another $60,000 to the grant pool.
Pastor Eze further disclosed that Nuvion Bank and fintech company Flutterwave jointly sponsored 35 beneficiaries, contributing $105,000. This brought the total value of the Digital Empowerment Grant to $525,000.
“So the total grant that we are going to be looking at right now is $525,000, I’m sure you know it’s something to cheer about,” he said.
Beyond direct financial support, Pastor Eze revealed that beneficiaries will receive additional capacity-building opportunities. The Tony Elumelu Foundation will provide a 12-week business education course for all awardees, while Flutterwave will offer technical backstopping for beneficiaries in the technology category.
“Flutterwave decided to do a lot of technical backstopping for anyone in technology who is an awardee,” he added.
Pastor Eze also stressed that details of the selection criteria would be announced soon, noting that the entire process would be handled independently by a reputable international consulting firm. The initiative aligns with the Jerry Eze Foundation’s broader mission to empower young people and promote sustainable economic growth across Africa.
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