Aliko Dangote Foundation Commits N1.5bn to Support BUK Postgraduate Students
Kola Oyelere Kano
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The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) has signed a ₦1.5 billion Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bayero University Kano (BUK) to provide scholarship support for postgraduate students of the Dangote Business School.
The agreement, signed on Tuesday at the Business School’s main auditorium in Kano, provides ₦300 million annually over five years to fund scholarships for eligible MBA, entrepreneurship, and management postgraduate students.
Under the MoU, jointly signed by ADF Board of Trustees member, Hajiya Mariya Aliko Dangote, and BUK Vice Chancellor, Prof. Haruna Musa, each beneficiary will receive ₦150,000 per academic session starting from the 2024/2025 academic year.
The amount represents 50 per cent of the current ₦300,000 tuition fee paid by postgraduate students at the Business School.
The Dangote Business School currently has 1,225 students, comprising 696 fresh and 529 returning students, all of whom stand to benefit from the initiative.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the Foundation and President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, who was represented by Mariya Aliko Dangote, said the scholarship underscores the Foundation’s commitment to human capital development.
“Our vision at the Foundation is to build human capital that translates into economic opportunity. Strengthening business and entrepreneurship education is critical to turning knowledge into enterprise, innovation, and jobs,” he said.
He added that the scholarship deepens the Foundation’s commitment to the Dangote Business School by investing directly in the next generation of business leaders and change-makers.
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In his remarks, Prof. Haruna Musa described the intervention as timely, noting that it would provide significant relief to families grappling with rising education costs.
“This support comes at a critical time for many families. Beyond financial relief, it strengthens the Business School’s role as a centre for developing entrepreneurial and management talent, particularly for women who are increasingly taking leadership roles in enterprise,” he said.
Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, Khalid Bababubu, an MBA student specialising in Finance and Investment and engaged in manufacturing, expressed appreciation to the Foundation.
“We are happy to be beneficiaries of this initiative. Education is the bedrock of national development, and we will not take this scholarship for granted,” he said.
The initiative, titled the ‘MHF Dangote Graduate Business Scholarship,’ marks a strategic shift in ADF’s partnership with the Business School — moving from infrastructure support to direct investment in students and enterprise leadership development.
While the Foundation recently announced nationwide STEM education interventions targeting science and technology pathways at secondary and undergraduate levels, this scholarship focuses specifically on postgraduate business education, entrepreneurship, and management capacity building.
Since the commissioning of the Dangote Business School complex in 2018, ADF has supported facility maintenance at the institution. The new programme represents a deliberate shift from hard infrastructure to “soft infrastructure,” investing directly in people who are expected to drive enterprise, job creation, and economic growth.
The scholarship covers both new and returning students. Newly admitted students will receive automatic tuition reductions at registration, while returning students who have already paid their fees will receive rebates.
The ₦300 million annual allocation is structured to accommodate all eligible postgraduate students based on current enrolment.
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Any unutilised balance in the first year will remain within the Business School’s development envelope to enhance learning infrastructure and digital academic capacity.
The Aliko Dangote Foundation focuses on improving health and wellbeing, promoting quality education, and expanding empowerment opportunities, while Bayero University Kano remains one of Nigeria’s leading institutions committed to excellence in teaching, learning, and research.