The University of Offa, Kwara State, is planning to provide start-up grants to its graduates as part of efforts to promote entrepreneurship and reduce unemployment.

The university's Vice-Chancellor, Prof Kazeem Gbolagade, disclosed this on Wednesday at a press conference to herald the institution's maiden convocation ceremony, where 140 students are expected to receive their first degrees.

He said the university had made entrepreneurship and Information and Communication Technology training key components of its academic programme, with students also receiving assistance to register businesses with the Corporate Affairs Commission.

The vice-chancellor said, "At UNIOFFA, entrepreneurship training is as vibrant as ever, with our students exposed to many new areas to increase their know-how of becoming job creators.

"Students work with us to acquire their CAC so that they set up their companies immediately after their graduation."

Gbolagade said the institution was also working on a strategy that would enable it to provide start-up grants to graduates in the coming years.

He explained that the initiative was designed to contribute to efforts to address the country's unemployment challenge by helping graduates establish businesses rather than depend solely on paid employment.

The university is set to graduate 140 students at its first convocation, with eight graduating with First Class honours, 54 with Second Class Upper Division, 76 with Second Class Lower Division and two with Third Class honours.

The vice-chancellor said the institution, which was licensed in 2021 and commenced academic activities in 2022, had expanded from two faculties and 10 academic programmes to four faculties and 17 programmes.

According to him, the university currently has the faculties of Science and Computing; Management and Social Sciences; Education; and Health Sciences.

He said the institution was planning to introduce Law, Theatre Arts and Public Health as part of its next phase of academic expansion.

Gbolagade said student enrolment had also increased from 81 students in the 2022/2023 academic session to 640 students admitted for the 2026/2027 session, taking the cumulative figure to 1,383.

He said more than 1,000 prospective students had applied for admission in the current academic session, while over 600 had so far been admitted, adding that admission was still ongoing.

"Our quota for this year is 1,166 and once we fill up our quota, 2026/2027 admission will close," the VC said.

On academic standards, Gbolagade said all the university's initial 10 programmes had received accreditation from the National Universities Commission.

He also disclosed that four programmes in the Faculty of Health Sciences Nursing Science, Doctor of Physiotherapy, Medical Laboratory Science and Community Health Science recorded 100 per cent success during the NUC resource verification exercise conducted in April 2026.

The vice-chancellor said the institution had also strengthened its Information Technology training through a partnership with New Horizons, allowing students across disciplines to undergo practical IT training and obtain additional certifications alongside their university degrees.

He said the university had signed memoranda of understanding with Highstone International University in the United States and INTI International University of Malaysia to promote areas including staff and student exchange, grant attraction and resource sharing.

Gbolagade said the institution was also making efforts to improve research output, noting that one of its academics, Dr Abdulrazaq Agboola, represented the university on the KU+ team that won the 2026 National Tertiary Education Trust Fund grant.

He added that another academic in the Department of Computer Science, Kamaldeen Gbolagade, won a research assistantship grant from Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia, after competing with researchers globally.

According to the VC, the University of Offa Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies was launched in March 2026, with its maiden volume published in June containing 19 articles.

He said the university would also hold counselling and job training for its graduating students on Thursday as part of activities marking the convocation.

Gbolagade said the institution's maiden convocation would culminate on Monday with the investiture of its Chancellor, followed by a convocation lecture to be delivered by Prof Mohammed Yisa and the main convocation ceremony.

He said the university would also honour individuals in three categories during the ceremony, including honorary doctorate degrees, distinguished personality awards and ambassadorial awards.

While outlining the institution's achievements, the vice-chancellor identified inadequate infrastructure as a major challenge confronting the university.

He appealed for support to provide additional student accommodation, a modern Senate building, Faculty of Health Sciences building, Faculty of Law building, a 1,000-capacity lecture theatre, mosque, library complex, sports complex and a computer-based test centre.

Gbolagade expressed appreciation to the university's founder, Dr Abdulrasaq Oyewale, for establishing the institution and supporting its development.

The maiden convocation ceremony is scheduled to be held on Monday, October 12, 2026, in Offa, Kwara State.