About
We fund the moments that decide a career
Who We Are
The Gabriel Ezenri Foundation is a non-profit organisation registered in Nigeria, dedicated to supporting academia and research in Nigeria. We provide scholarships to outstanding undergraduate and postgraduate students, research grants to graduate students and early-career academics, and targeted support for the hidden costs of academic life.
Most education funding stops at tuition. We deliberately go further — because a degree is the beginning of a scholar's contribution, not the end. The researcher who can't afford fieldwork, the PhD candidate who can't pay a journal's publication fee, the lecturer whose accepted conference paper goes unpresented for lack of airfare: these are the quiet points where Nigerian knowledge production stalls. Our work is to unstall them.
What Makes Us Different
Plenty of organisations fund tuition. Very few fund the full academic journey. The Gabriel Ezenri Foundation is built around three convictions: that research deserves funding as much as coursework does; that the small costs (a ₦150,000 fieldwork budget, a $400 publication fee) kill as many academic careers as the big ones; and that money plus mentorship beats money alone.
That's why our programmes run from undergraduate scholarships all the way to early-career research grants — one pipeline, funded end to end.
Our Alignment with Global Goals
Advancing the SDGs through scholarship
Our work advances the UN Sustainable Development Goals — principally SDG 4 (Quality Education), and through research, SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).
SDG 4
Quality Education
Expanding access to quality education for outstanding Nigerian students at every level.
SDG 3
Good Health & Well-being
Supporting health and pharmaceutical research that improves how people are treated and cared for.
SDG 10
Reduced Inequalities
Ensuring financial circumstance never determines how far a talented scholar can go.
From the Founder
"I trained as a pharmacist at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka — and watched brilliant classmates thin out, not for lack of ability, but for lack of a little money at exactly the wrong moment."
Gabriel Ezenri's letter tells the story behind the foundation — from pharmacy at UNN to a commitment to fund Nigerian scholars for life.
Our Values
Merit. Access. Integrity. Community. Impact.
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Merit
We fund excellence and potential, identified through a rigorous, transparent selection process.
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Access
We prioritise those for whom our support is the difference between continuing and stopping.
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Integrity
No application fees, no favouritism, no shortcuts. Our process is the same for everyone.
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Community
Our scholars join a network — of each other, of mentors, and of the foundation — for life.
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Impact
We measure ourselves by what our scholars go on to do, and we report honestly on it.
Team
The people behind GEF
Our team profiles are being prepared. Check back soon for introductions to the people who make this work possible.
Team member profile — coming soon
Team member profile — coming soon
Team member profile — coming soon
Governance
Transparency by design
The Gabriel Ezenri Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees drawn from academia, healthcare, and the professions. We publish annual reports, keep administrative costs below 15% of expenditure, and never charge applicants at any stage.
<15%
Administrative costs cap
₦0
Application fees — ever