The Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Programme (AKF ISP) is one of the most widely circulated scholarship opportunities on Nigerian social media and WhatsApp scholarship groups. Every year, thousands of Nigerian students see posts about the Aga Khan scholarship and begin preparing their applications. This guide exists to give you the honest, verified answer to the most important question — is the Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship open to Nigerian applicants? — and to explain everything about how the programme works, so you can make an informed decision about how to invest your scholarship preparation time.
The Aga Khan Foundation is an international non-governmental organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1969 by His Late Highness Aga Khan IV and is part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). The Foundation’s International Scholarship Programme (AKF ISP) provides a limited number of postgraduate scholarships each year to outstanding students from developing countries who have no other means of funding their studies. Since 1969, the programme has supported over 1,500 students globally. It is a respected, legitimate, and well-established scholarship — but it is not open to all countries, and this is where Nigerian applicants need to pay careful attention.
Is the Aga Khan Foundation Scholarship Open to Nigerians? — The Honest Answer
The direct answer is: currently, no. Nigeria is not on the official list of countries where the Aga Khan Foundation International Scholarship Programme operates. The programme is available only to nationals who are residing in countries where the Aga Khan Foundation or Aga Khan Education Services has established offices and can process local applications and conduct interviews.
As of 2026, the official AKF ISP eligible countries include Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, India, Kenya, the Kyrgyz Republic, Madagascar, Mozambique, Pakistan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, and Uganda. In addition, applicants originally from these countries who are now living in Canada, France, Portugal, or the USA may also apply through those countries’ local AKF offices.
Nigeria is not on this list. The AKF ISP official website at akf.org confirms this. If you have seen social media posts, WhatsApp forwards, or website articles suggesting that Nigerian students can apply for the Aga Khan Foundation scholarship, those posts are either outdated, inaccurate, or referring to a different Aga Khan programme. Do not invest time in an application for a scholarship you are not eligible for.
Could This Change in the Future?
The Aga Khan Foundation’s eligible country list does change over time as the Foundation expands its network of offices. Countries are added when the Foundation establishes an operational presence that can manage local applications and interviews. If the Aga Khan Foundation were to establish such an office in Nigeria in the future, Nigerian applicants would become eligible. Monitor the official AKF ISP website at akf.org from January each year, when the Foundation typically publishes the current eligible countries list for the upcoming cycle. The 2027–2028 cycle is expected to open in early 2027.
What the AKF ISP Covers — For Reference
For the benefit of readers from eligible countries, or Nigerians who may become eligible in future cycles, here is what the scholarship covers:
- The AKF ISP is structured as a half grant, half loan — 50% of the total award is a grant you keep, and 50% is a loan you must repay with a 5% annual service charge, beginning six months after graduation, over a five-year repayment period. A guarantor is required to co-sign the loan agreement
- The scholarship covers tuition fees and living expenses only — it does not cover international travel costs, clothing, or family expenses
- For Master’s programmes, the scholarship covers the full duration of the degree
- For PhD programmes, funding is limited to the first two years only — after which the scholar is expected to secure alternative funding sources
- Preference is given to applicants under 30 years of age, though there is no formal age cutoff
- The scholarship can be used at any reputable university or postgraduate institution anywhere in the world — there is no restriction on destination country
What Nigerian Students Should Do Instead
Since the Aga Khan Foundation scholarship is not currently accessible to Nigerian applicants, redirect your preparation time toward the many fully funded scholarships that are open to Nigerians right now. Moreschooling has detailed guides for all of the following programmes, which are verified as open to Nigerian applicants:
- Chevening Scholarship — fully funded UK Masters, application opens August 2026
- Commonwealth Masters Scholarship — fully funded UK Masters, next cycle opens September 2026
- Commonwealth PhD Scholarship — fully funded UK PhD, next cycle opens September 2026
- DAAD Scholarship — funded postgraduate study in Germany, multiple deadlines throughout the year
- Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters — fully funded two-year European Masters, portals open October 2026
- Global Korea Scholarship (GKS) — fully funded Korean Masters or PhD, next cycle opens mid-2026
- Australian Awards Scholarship — fully funded Australian Masters, next cycle opens February 2027
- Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program — fully funded Masters at multiple partner institutions, various deadlines
- Rhodes Scholarship West Africa — fully funded Oxford postgraduate, application closes 27 August 2026
- Gates Cambridge Scholarship — fully funded Cambridge postgraduate, portal opens September 2026
How to Avoid Scholarship Misinformation as a Nigerian Student
The Aga Khan Foundation scholarship is one of the most commonly misrepresented scholarships circulating in Nigerian scholarship communities. Before investing time in any scholarship application, always verify eligibility directly on the official scholarship website — not on a blog post, not on a WhatsApp forward, and not on a social media page. The official AKF ISP website is akf.org. The eligible countries list is published there from January each year. If Nigeria is not on that list, do not apply regardless of what you may have read elsewhere. Your preparation time is valuable — spend it on scholarships you are genuinely eligible for.
Moreschooling verifies every scholarship from official sources before publishing. If you ever see information on our site that appears to conflict with an official scholarship website, always defer to the official source and let us know through our Contact page so we can review and update our information.