How Nigeria is leading on digital transformation for a stronger economy

Digital innovation has arguably enabled a pace of technological progress not seen by any generation other than the present.

This is why many nations across the world, Nigeria included, recognize the need to equip young people with the knowledge and skills needed to drive innovation as a foundation to grow their digital economy.

The Nigerian Government, through the Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, has approached this need with multi-pronged digital transformation efforts. Specifically, the objective is to raise the level of productivity across sectors through the application of technology.

In line with that, and with the clear intention of boosting the contribution of the digital economy to the nation’s gross domestic product, Nigeria has launched two key infrastructure and capacity building initiatives that will form the foundation for Nigeria’s digital transformation – the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) Programme and the Broadband Alliance.

With the rapid growth in technology and mainstreaming more innovations in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, it has become evident that the demands of the technology workforce far outweighs the available talent supply.

Nigeria, in its unique position to reduce the shortage with its very youthful demographic — about 70% of the country’s population is under 35 — has decided to do something to change the narrative.

The country last year launched the 3MTT programme, with the ambitious goal of training three million technical talents by the year 2027.

The 3MTT programme — the largest known talent accelerator in the world — is strategically designed to cultivate a robust pipeline of technical skills across Nigeria and position the country as a net-exporter of tech talent.

Focused on twelve in-demand technical skill areas including software development, machine learning, UI/UX design, data analysis and visualization, this initiative aims to bridge the existing skills gap in the country and nurture a cadre of proficient professionals poised to drive digital innovation locally and globally.

The 3MTT programme is designed as a three-stage model of incremental development, employing the 1%-10%-100% approach.

The first phase of the programme – training 30,000 technical talents – was delivered between December 2023 to March 2024 and represented 1% of the overall target. The second phase, which was launched in late February 2024, has onboarded 270,000 more talents in the programme, moving it closer to its overall target.

As part of its inclusive approach, the programme trains individuals from diverse backgrounds and regions of Nigeria, ensuring broad participation in the digital economy.

The potential and promise of the 3MTT programme became evident as the first phase of applications saw a staggering 1.7 million applications from prospective candidates proving the desire and eagerness of Nigeria’s population for such a programme. More than 1,400 organizations also expressed interest in supporting the training of talent.

Overall, this represents a hugely significant injection of technically capable individuals into the workforce and gives a favourable outlook to Nigeria's local digital space and potential offerings worldwide.

Another critical intervention is the Broadband Alliance which is a multi-stakeholder collaboration to achieve universal broadband access across Nigeria.

This initiative aims to address the challenges of low and non-consumption, which have resulted in poor return on investment for the nationwide fibre network, thus facilitating more locations to use the internet, including schools, hospitals, government institutions and so on.

By promoting collaboration for broadband development and adoption, it seeks to position Nigeria as a leader in the global digital landscape.

The Broadband Alliance will adopt different mechanisms to deliver connectivity to the people, one of which is Project 774 LG Connectivity. This project was designed to improve internet and digital access to government services by connecting all 774 local government secretariats across Nigeria to the internet.

This ambitious project will promote inclusive development and ensure access to digital public infrastructure in government offices nationwide, including the most remote and previously unserved and underserved areas.

Co-anchored by Nigeria’s own satellite company, Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited (NigComSat) and Galaxy Backbone Limited, the state-owned broadband fibre network company, under the supervision of the Ministry, the Project 774 initiative is in alignment with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s desire to ensure last mile internet coverage to bring government services closer to the people.

The project will also offer digital training to local government staff to ensure their ability to maximize the access to the internet while also position the secretariats as resource centres for residents of those areas.

While Project 774 LG Connectivity is expected to run smoothly within the provisions of Nigeria’s current broadband infrastructure, the Ministry has also identified that significant upgrades must be made for further growth.

This has necessitated the launch of a special purpose vehicle to manage a Fibre Fund that will bring together notable stakeholders from the public and private sectors, as well as civil society, to raise a $2 billion fund targeted at driving improved provision of internet connectivity through enhanced broadband infrastructure.

This goal informs its aggressive target of laying 125,000km (35,000km of which have presently been laid) of fibre-optic cables across the country in the next two years.

In addition to these critical pillars of talent development and connectivity, the ministry has also introduced other exciting initiatives such as Build-a-Thon and Devs in Government that propel Nigeria to the level of a global technological leader.

These initiatives focus on innovations and partnerships targeted at building a strong technological foundation which Nigeria will use as a springboard for accelerated development.

The Build-a-Thon programme is designed to prepare the next generation of Nigerians for the technology workforce of the future. Through this, 1,500 kids from 150 schools were trained in embedded systems, followed by a Demo Day where they showcased their learning.

Meanwhile, Devs in Government, a community of technologists and tech enthusiasts within the Nigerian civil service, was launched to promote the use of technology in government services through an effective system and infrastructure for optimal delivery.

This platform also gives civil servants the opportunity to share innovative ideas that will significantly improve the way citizens engage with government.

Nigeria is a member of the EDISON Alliance Lighthouse Countries Network, illustrating the impact of bridging the digital divide. The EDISON Alliance drives digitally inclusive solutions to improve health, education, and finance, ensuring no one is left behind. Nigeria's progress highlights that every step counts.