FG opens ₦4bn 3MTT Cohort 5 funding applications for training partners, ties payments to job outcomes

The Federal Government has opened applications for the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Delivery Network, with about ₦4 billion available for Cohort 5, Communications Minister Bosun Tijani announced on his official X account.

Funding for the cohort comes from the European Union and Denmark, through GIZ, HAUS and ESTDEV, alongside a grant from the MacArthur Foundation. Tijani described the network as a coalition of organisations focused on “equipping Nigerians with proven skills and connecting them to real economic opportunities.”

Organisations that can offer Fellows verified opportunities, or a clear path to them, can apply as Funded Delivery Partners, alone or as a consortium. Funding applications close on November 30, according to the programme’s application portal.

How the money is paid

The funding is not a grant handed over at the start. Funded Partners agree on a rate per successful Fellow, within a regional benchmark, and are paid in stages as the programme verifies four results.

The first is learning commencement, which requires a confirmed identity, active participation and a baseline assessment. The second is verified skills, where the Fellow passes an agreed end-of-training assessment. The third is a secured opportunity, meaning a job, internship, freelance engagement or the Fellow’s own business that earns above the national minimum wage. The fourth is a sustained opportunity, where the Fellow is still employed or earning six months later.

The portal states that training completion alone does not qualify for payment. Partners also work with the programme team to select Fellows from a shortlist, based on their training and the opportunities they can offer.

Read also: Meet Jideuno Chioma, a 3MTT graduate with no tech background, now building a hospital routing system

Who can apply for 3MTT cohort 5 funding

Funded Partners must be training organisations, and the lead applicant for a funding bid must be registered and operating in Nigeria. A consortium is assessed as a whole. Employers, other training organisations and partners in Nigeria or abroad can join as members.

Applicants are expected to show Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) registration, evidence of teaching experience, details of founders or directors, and a training programme completed within the last 24 months. The portal’s readiness check also asks whether an organisation can train at least 100 Fellows within six months.

A second route, Enabled Delivery Partner, carries no funding. It is open to organisations and individual experts, in Nigeria or abroad, with or without a physical training space. Enabled Partners get national recognition, a say in shared training standards and credentials, and access to the 3MTT Talent Operating System and the National Talent Registry. They also get demand data on roles employers are hiring for, plus learning licences, credits and access to device financing, subject to eligibility.

Organisations not selected for funding can still join as Enabled Partners, provided they meet the membership requirements. Membership lasts 12 months, and every member must assess at least one cohort on the platform each year.

Applying costs nothing. The portal warns that no one can sell a place in the network and asks applicants to report any request for payment to the programme’s support email.

Read more: Stipends vs skills: Years later, can we say 3MTT was a better replacement for N-Power?

Selected partners will be announced in December, and training for Cohort 5 begins in January 2027.

The bigger picture

According to the portal, the programme has trained 179,000 Fellows across four cohorts and DeepTech. More than 200 partner organisations have delivered training, and over 1.8 million Nigerians have registered on the platform. That is well short of the 3 million target, which the programme now places at 2030.

The government opened applications for the programme in October 2023 with the aim of training 3 million Nigerians within four years. The shift to outcome-based funding follows earlier private-sector support. Tijani disclosed in December 2025 that the programme had received more than ₦6.45 billion in commitments from three core partners. IHS pledged ₦2.5 billion, MTN ₦2.95 billion and Airtel ₦1 billion.

Tijani tied the latest call to the President’s economic ambitions. He noted that reaching a $1 trillion economy will require Nigerians with skills that businesses at home and abroad are hiring for, along with entrepreneurs whose ventures create opportunities for others.