Nestlé Nigeria has opened applications for its 2026/27 Community Scholarship Programme to students in three host communities, as rising education costs continue to put pressure on Nigerian families.
Nestlé Nigeria has opened applications for its 2026/2027 Community Scholarship Programme, offering financial support to selected science and technical students in Agbara, Sagamu and Abaji.
The programme is open to current 100-level students studying science or technical courses and SS1 science students who meet the stated academic requirements. Applications close on 28 August 2026.
Nestlé says the scheme, launched in 2020, has supported more than 250 students.
However, its 2025 annual report, published earlier this year, recorded 232 scholarship recipients at the end of 2025, after 53 new beneficiaries were admitted during the year.
Who can apply?
For tertiary education, applicants must be current 100-level students studying science or technical courses and must have scored at least 200 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, or UTME.
For secondary education, applicants must be SS1 science students who obtained at least five credit passes in the Basic Education Certificate Examination, or BECE.
The scholarship is targeted at young people from Nestlé's host communities rather than students across Nigeria.
That is significant because the programme is not a general national scholarship.
Its beneficiaries are concentrated around communities where the company has operations, including Agbara and Sagamu in Ogun State and Abaji in the Federal Capital Territory.
Nestlé's 2024 annual report similarly identified Agbara, Sagamu, Owode and Abaji as communities covered by the scheme and said 65 new students were admitted that year, taking the total number of beneficiaries to 179 at the time.
Why the scholarship matters now
The timing comes as education remains a major financial burden for Nigerian households.
Nigeria's education system currently serves more than 40 million learners, according to the Federal Ministry of Education's 2024 education statistics, although the ministry says only 58.3% of schools in the database reported data for that census.
The wider education system is also dealing with substantial access challenges.
The Federal Ministry of Education's Nigeria Education Sector Renewal Initiative estimates that about 15 million children remain out of school.
At the same time, the National Bureau of Statistics continues to track education services as part of the country's inflation basket, reflecting the wider cost pressures affecting households.
Against that background, even a scholarship restricted to a relatively small number of students can make a material difference to individual families.
But the central question is how far such programmes can address a problem that is national in scale.
A small programme in a much larger education crisis
Nestlé's own reporting shows that the scheme has grown since it was introduced.
The company reported that 112 students had benefited by 2022.
By the end of 2024, the figure had risen to 179, and its 2025 annual report recorded 232 recipients.
That represents sustained expansion, but it remains a relatively targeted intervention compared with the size of Nigeria's student population.
The Federal Ministry of Education says its scholarship system is now being expanded alongside other interventions, including the Nigerian Education Loan Fund and programmes focused on science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medical sciences.
Its current education reform platform reports 1.59 million NELFUND beneficiaries.
The difference is important: corporate scholarships can provide targeted assistance, while government programmes are intended to operate at much larger scale.
What evidence supports the First Class claim?
Nestlé says more than 70% of its tracked scholarship beneficiaries are either maintaining or graduating with First Class honours.
What does the scholarship cover?
Nestlé says the programme provides financial support for tuition, books and other school-related expenses.
Previous company documents have described broader support, including tuition, accommodation, uniforms, books and other educational expenses.
In 2024, Nestlé announced that 90 verified indigenes would receive grants totalling N18m, equivalent to an average of N200,000 per award if distributed equally.
The company has not stated in the latest announcement whether the 2026/27 funding has increased, remained unchanged or been adjusted to reflect current costs.
How will applicants be selected?
Nestlé says applications will undergo verification involving educational institutions, community unions and community leaders.
That process is intended to establish eligibility and support what the company describes as a fair selection system.
Beneficiary's experience
One former beneficiary, Kazeem Fatai, a recent graduate of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, said the scholarship helped him remain focused on his studies.
Fatai graduated with a First Class Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering.
“Receiving the Nestlé Community Scholarship was more than financial support; it was a vote of confidence in my future.
Knowing that Nestlé continued to invest in my education year after year motivated me to stay committed to my goal of graduating with a First Class.
Today, I am proud to have achieved that dream, and I hope my story inspires other young people to remain focused, work hard, and make the most of every opportunity they receive.”
His experience provides an individual example of the potential benefit of the scheme, although one beneficiary's experience cannot by itself demonstrate the programme's overall effectiveness.
Nestlé's position
Victoria Uwadoka, Corporate Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainability Lead at Nestlé Nigeria, said the scholarship reflects the company's view that business development and community development should progress together.
“At Nestlé, we believe that stronger communities are built by creating opportunities for people to thrive.
Through the Community Scholarship Programme, we are supporting young people with access to education while investing in the future potential of our host communities.
By empowering students today, we are helping to develop the knowledge and skills that will contribute to Nigeria’s growth tomorrow.”
She said the programme forms part of Nestlé for Good, the company's wider initiative covering education, skills development, nutrition education and youth empowerment.
The statement is consistent with Nestlé Nigeria's published sustainability reporting, which lists community scholarships among its youth empowerment initiatives.
What happens next?
Applications for the 2026/27 cycle will remain open until 28 August 2026.
For prospective applicants, the immediate issue is eligibility.
For Nestlé, the more significant test will be whether the company can demonstrate that the programme's expanding reach translates into measurable and sustained educational outcomes.
The next stage will therefore be not only how many students receive scholarships, but how transparently Nestlé reports the number selected, the value of the awards, the academic outcomes of beneficiaries and the basis for claims about First Class performance.
Those figures would provide a clearer picture of whether the programme is simply providing valuable assistance to a small group of students, or producing the wider community impact that Nestlé says it seeks.
