The growth Research and Projects Centre (dRPC) has opened applications for a second spherical of its NGO Support Initiative (NSI), providing free govt training to Nigerian civil society organisations, foundations and different social-impact organisations.
The eight-week digital programme, scheduled to run from 20 October to 19 December 2026, is designed to strengthen organisational administration, resilience, philanthropy and sustainable funding amongst native organisations.
The initiative is being applied in collaboration with Leiden University within the Netherlands, Dangote Business School and the Centre for Entrepreneurship Research and Training (CERT), Bayero University, Kano.
The programme comes amid rising issues in regards to the sustainability of Nigerian civil society organisations following cuts to worldwide growth help and growing regulatory calls for on non-profit organisations.
In 2025, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the dRPC launched the primary spherical of the NSI to assist Nigerian NGOs affected by worldwide funding cuts, significantly the disruption brought on by the United States authorities’s determination to halt a number of international help programmes.
The first spherical attracted 495 applications, with 17 organisations ultimately receiving N5 million every to implement tasks affected by the funding disruption.
The tasks coated areas together with maternal well being, women’ training, digital abilities for younger individuals and humanitarian help.
Funding disaster
The funding problem going through Nigerian NGOs has endured past the preliminary disruption to USAID-funded programmes.
In a February 2026 opinion article printed on PREMIUM TIMES, Judith-Ann Walker, govt director and founding member of the dRPC, wrote that Nigerian NGOs had been getting into 2026 with fewer grant alternatives and would wish to discover new funders, partnerships and various funding fashions.
She famous that the withdrawal of USAID assist had affected organisations working in areas together with youth entrepreneurship, local weather justice, public well being advocacy, faculty security, zero-dose kids and human rights, with some organisations compelled to shut programmes, workplaces and disengage workers.
PREMIUM TIMES additionally reported in June 2025 that Nigerian civil society organisations engaged on HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria had been calling for stronger home useful resource mobilisation to cut back dependence on international donors.
Stakeholders on the time argued that Nigeria couldn’t proceed to rely indefinitely on authorities and exterior donors to finance essential growth interventions, significantly as worldwide donors more and more rethink their support commitments.
The dRPC’s second-round programme displays a few of these issues, with considered one of its training streams specializing in organisational resilience, sustainable funding methods and dealing with authorities to scale programmes.
New regulatory calls for
The training additionally comes as Nigerian non-profit organisations face elevated scrutiny of their operations and funding.
In July, PREMIUM TIMES reported that the Nigeria Network of NGOs urged organisations to deal with regulatory compliance as a central a part of their operations, together with holding registrations, annual returns, tax filings and different authorized obligations updated.
The situation has change into extra distinguished following the introduction of a proposed Foreign Aid (Regulation, Transparency and Disclosure) Bill, which seeks to require NGOs to register international support and donor-funded tasks with the federal government.
The invoice handed second studying within the Senate in July, prompting debate over transparency, accountability and the potential impact of elevated regulation on civic area.
In September, a coalition of civil society organisations called for the withdrawal of the invoice, arguing that it might prohibit civic area and provides authorities extreme powers over organisations primarily based on their sources of funding.
Against this backdrop, the dRPC mentioned its second-round training would come with a module on compliance with the regulatory surroundings, alongside venture administration, accountability, expertise growth, organisational visibility and sustainable funding.
Two training streams
The first stream, an eight-week Senior Executive Training Programme on NGO Management for Project Impact and Organisational Resilience, is focused at 20 registered and compliant Nigerian CSOs with energetic grants.
The organisations have to be working in areas together with technical and vocational training and training and women’ training, public well being, the digital economic system, local weather motion and humanitarian help.
Two representatives from every organisation, together with founders, venture administrators or gender leads, are anticipated to take part.
The second stream focuses on professionalising native philanthropy, strengthening charitable foundations and bettering company social duty.
It is open to twenty Nigerian foundations, charitable associations, outdated boys’ and women’ organisations and CSR items of business organisations with energetic charitable portfolios supporting non-profit organisations.
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Participants will likely be educated on points together with social entrepreneurship, sustainable financing, monetary and strategic administration, taxation and regulatory compliance, monitoring and influence reporting.
The dRPC mentioned contributors who full both programme will obtain certificates signed by the dRPC, Leiden University, Dangote Business School and CERT.
It mentioned the training is free and that profitable candidates wouldn’t be required to pay any charge or different consideration.
Applications for both stream shut on 15 October 2026.
Application hyperlink: CLICK HERE
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