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Nigerian billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu, through his philanthropic organization the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative (ASR Africa), has gifted N5.5 billion ($11.8 million) to 22 institutions to drive infrastructure development.
The grants, which will be distributed through ASR Africa’s Tertiary Education Grants Scheme (TEGS), will provide N250 million ($540,000) to each of the selected institutions for infrastructure development, in line with Rabiu’s commitment to raising the standard of education in Nigeria.
Among the institutions selected as beneficiaries of the scheme is the University of Lagos, University of Uyo, University of Jos, Federal College of Education Technology Gusau, Federal University Lokoja, Nasarawa State University, University of Port Harcourt, Federal University of Technology Minna, and Uthman Dan Fodio University.
ASR Africa’s Social Development Specialist Edidiong Idang stated that the initiative, which focuses on health and education in Africa, would continue collaborating with the government and the private sector institutions to aid education.
The $11.8-million grant gifted to the institutions will provide a much-needed boost to Nigeria’s higher education sector and improve the infrastructure and facilities at the selected institutions.
ASR Africa is a nonprofit foundation founded by Rabiu in April 2021 to support long-term, impact-driven solutions to developmental concerns affecting health, education, and social development throughout Africa.
The organization since its inception in 2021, has dedicated about $100 million to the ASR initiative in health, education, and social development issues in Africa, in line with its aim to become Africa’s most influential philanthropic institution.
In 2022, Rabiu made headlines when he launched a N10-billion ($23.8 million) Nigeria Security Support Fund to provide security equipment, medical supplies, and other supplies to the families of soldiers fighting terrorists in the country’s northeast.
This donation is the single largest donation to a philanthropic cause by a Nigerian businessman, and it comes after Rabiu’s $3-million development initiative in Niger three weeks ago through ASR Africa.
