MTN Foundation Opens Phase 8 of ICT and Business Skills Training for Women Entrepreneurs
The MTN Foundation has opened applications for the eighth phase of its ICT and Business Skills Training programme. This edition is aimed at young Nigerian women who run micro businesses. Applications close on October 11, 2026, about three weeks from now.
What the programme offers
The MTN ICT and Business Skills Training programme is a youth development initiative that teaches digital and business skills to young entrepreneurs. Phase 8 runs for five weeks in a blended format. Participants work through self-paced online modules and instructor-led sessions, and they attend masterclasses led by experienced entrepreneurs. Each participant also completes a capstone project challenge. MTN provides data support so that the cost of connectivity does not keep anyone out of the training.
Top performers can also win funding. According to Opportunity Desk, the top 100 participants will each receive an equipment grant of up to N1 million, drawn from a N100 million fund.
Who can apply
Applicants must meet all of the following conditions, as set out on MTN’s programme page and repeated by Careers Nigeria:
- Nigerian women aged 18 to 35.
- Owner and manager of a micro business that has operated for no more than two years.
- A business located in Rivers, Abia, Ogun, Kwara, Kano or Gombe State.
Applications are submitted through the MTN Foundation application portal. Applicants must accept the terms and conditions and the data privacy notice, and complete every compulsory field, for the application to count as successful.
How Phase 8 differs from Phase 7
The previous phase was open to Nigerian men and women. As MSME Africa reported when Phase 7 opened, it aimed to train about 6,000 micro business owners, and its top 600 participants shared a N300 million equipment grant pool.
Phase 8 is limited to women, and its grant fund is smaller: N100 million for 100 top participants rather than N300 million for 600. The programme has also added a capstone project to the curriculum. Neither MTN nor the aggregators covering the call say how many participants will be admitted this time.
Track record and partners
The programme began in 2018 and works with Google, Oracle, KPMG, IBM, the Digital Bridge Institute, Cisco, Meta and Microsoft. Before Phase 7, MTN reported that 9,382 micro business owners had completed the training across 22 states. Current figures put the total at 15,362 graduates across 29 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
Why it matters
Most Nigerian micro businesses are run by owners without formal training in digital tools, bookkeeping or online marketing, and few employers or lenders offer that training to young founders. Programmes like this one fill part of that gap, and the equipment grants give the strongest performers something tangible to build on. Phase 8 narrows the focus to women entrepreneurs in six states, and the October 11 deadline leaves a short window for eligible applicants to apply.
