Microsoft & FG: 4 Million Nigerians Trained in AI and Tech Skills Over Five Years
Microsoft has announced that its strategic partnership with the Nigerian Federal Government has successfully equipped over four million Nigerians with essential digital skills since 2021.
This milestone, revealed during a media roundtable in Lagos on Tuesday, underscores a massive push to prepare Nigeria’s workforce for the global digital economy and the rapidly evolving field of Artificial Intelligence.
Table of Contents
The Milestone: 4 Million and Counting
Certification and Specialised Training Pathways
The Next Frontier: National AI Skills Initiative (AINSI)
Nigeria’s AI Adoption and Competitive Strategy
The Three Pillars of Growth: Frontier, Infrastructure, and Skills
Public Sector Transformation & Grassroots Reach
Lagos Business School (LBS) Leadership Training
Data Science Nigeria: Empowering Communities
Broader Context: Nigeria’s Digital Literacy Roadmap
3MTT and NITDA’s 2030 Vision
Partnerships with Amazon Web Services (AWS)
1. The Milestone: 4 Million and Counting
Nonye Ujam, Microsoft West Africa’s Director for Government Affairs, highlighted the impressive scale of the digital literacy program.
Certification and Specialised Training Pathways
The initiative has seen significant engagement across various levels of technical expertise:
350,000 individuals participated in specialized student programs.
63,000 learners completed specific, high-level training pathways.
43,000 Nigerians successfully received global certifications, making them competitive in the international job market.
The Next Frontier: National AI Skills Initiative (AINSI)
Microsoft isn’t slowing down. Ujam announced plans to train an additional 350,000 Nigerians specifically in AI skills. This initiative will be implemented in collaboration with Data Science Nigeria and the Lagos Business School (LBS) to ensure the curriculum meets local industry needs.
2. Nigeria’s AI Adoption and Competitive Strategy
Abideen Yusuf, Country General Manager for Microsoft Nigeria and Ghana, noted that Nigeria’s AI adoption rate currently stands at 8.7%. While this is slightly below the Sub-Saharan average, Yusuf emphasized that the country must move quickly to lead in the region.
The Three Pillars of Growth
Microsoft’s strategy for Nigeria focuses on three key indices to maximize AI’s economic potential:
The Frontier: Fostering local innovation and developer talent.
Infrastructure: Improving the underlying connectivity and power supply necessary for tech growth.
Skills: Equipping leaders and users to adopt and adapt to AI technologies.
3. Public Sector Transformation & Grassroots Reach
The training programs extend beyond students and developers, targeting those who manage the nation’s governance and community structures.
Leadership at LBS: Olayinka David-West, Dean of Lagos Business School, revealed that 99 public sector leaders from 58 agencies have been trained. The focus here is on ethics, governance, and risk management in AI—crucial for sectors like agriculture and finance.
Grassroots Inclusion: Representing Data Science Nigeria, Aanu Oyeniran explained that the program is structured to reach “grassroots” learners. By integrating AI capacity into classrooms and local communities, the goal is to build a foundation for evidence-driven governance.
4. Broader Context: Nigeria’s Digital Literacy Roadmap
This Microsoft partnership is a major piece of a larger puzzle being assembled by the Federal Government to digitize the nation.
3MTT and DevsInGov: The Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy is leading the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) initiative to build a massive pipeline of technical experts.
NITDA’s Targets: Under the “Digital Literacy for All” (DL4ALL) initiative, the government aims to reach 70% digital literacy by 2027 and 95% by 2030.
AWS Partnership: The Ministry of Education has also launched a free digital skills program with Amazon Web Services (AWS), already live in over 40 universities and polytechnics, focusing on cloud computing and machine learning.
Vocational Training: A nationwide TVET program is currently targeting five million youths for practical, artisan-led mentorship and vocational accreditation.
Join Our Social Media Channels:
WhatsApp: NaijaEyes
Facebook: NaijaEyes
Twitter: NaijaEyes
Instagram: NaijaEyes
TikTok: NaijaEyes
