From ₦300,000 Scholarships to Jobs: OPay Signs 10-Year Student Development Deal With FUNAAB

OPay Takes Scholarship Drive to FUNAAB, Targets 20 Students and Future Innovators.

The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, FUNAAB, has secured a ₦60 million partnership with OPay Digital Services Limited, giving students access to scholarships, innovation programmes, skills training and possible employment pathways.

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed on Thursday, September 24, 2026, as the two institutions began a 10-year partnership designed to go beyond financial assistance.

Under the scholarship component, 20 FUNAAB students will receive ₦300,000 each annually, subject to meeting the programme’s academic requirements.

OPay’s Corporate Social Responsibility Manager, Itoro Udo, said FUNAAB became the 26th tertiary institution to join the initiative, with the company targeting at least 41 institutions nationwide.

But the money is only one part of the deal.

From scholarship to employability

OPay said the programme has evolved into a wider Innovation Challenge aimed at helping students bridge the gap between classroom knowledge and workplace expectations.

The programme includes webinars, boot camps and practical sessions with professionals in fintech and technology.

That distinction matters.

A scholarship can help a student remain in school. Skills and professional exposure may determine what happens after graduation.

OPay said its wider talent initiative also involves partnerships with Google and the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent, 3MTT, programme.

Through assessments and training, participants can be identified for internship and job-placement opportunities.

The company’s wider 10-year scholarship commitment has been reported as a ₦1.2 billion programme, with more than 1,200 direct beneficiaries across its existing initiatives.

FUNAAB’s 20 slots

For FUNAAB, the arrangement will create a dedicated institutional quota in subsequent application cycles.

The University will receive applications, verify candidates and select 20 scholarship beneficiaries.

Five of those beneficiaries will then represent FUNAAB in the Innovation Challenge, where they will compete with selected students from other participating institutions.

Udo stressed that scholarship renewal is not automatic.

Students must maintain the required academic performance to remain eligible.

That condition makes the programme less like a one-off cash award and more like a continuing academic incentive.

Why the partnership matters

Vice-Chancellor Prof. Babatunde Kehinde welcomed the initiative, saying it would complement efforts by the University, Students’ Union and individual staff members to support students facing financial pressure.

Although federal universities do not charge tuition, Kehinde noted that students still pay for services such as medical and ICT support.

Those costs can become difficult for families already struggling with other educational expenses.

FUNAAB has about 25,000 students, with the population expected to rise to approximately 27,000, according to the Vice-Chancellor.

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He therefore assured OPay that the selection process would be transparent and merit-based.

The University already has structures that can support the partnership, including its Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies and Career Services and Linkages Unit.

Kehinde also pointed to student-led technology groups working in areas including data analysis and digital technology.

More than a cheque

The significance of the agreement is therefore not simply the ₦60 million attached to the MoU.

It is the attempt to connect education, innovation and employability.

That is increasingly important in a Nigerian economy where graduating from university does not automatically translate into professional opportunity.

For the students selected, the immediate benefit is financial.

For the five chosen for the Innovation Challenge, the opportunity extends into competition, exposure and practical problem-solving.

And for others who enter the wider talent pipeline, the programme could become a route into internships and employment.

The agreement was signed in the presence of FUNAAB’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Academic, Prof. Olusegun Idowu; Principal Assistant Registrar in the Vice-Chancellor’s Office, Adekunle Adebiyi; University Legal Officer, Olanrewaju Tanimowo; and OPay’s CSR Officer, Babatunde Akinloluwa, among others.

For FUNAAB, the immediate question is simple: how many students can turn this opportunity into something much bigger than a scholarship? ValidViewNetwork reports.