The federal government has unveiled plans to train millions of Nigerians, including artisans and National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members, in essential digital skills as part of efforts to expand economic participation and strengthen the country’s innovation ecosystem.
The Director-General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, disclosed this on Saturday at the maiden edition of the FutureMap Roundtable, a high-level policy dialogue focused on building a functional innovation ecosystem in Northern Nigeria.
Speaking to journalists at the event, Inuwa said the initiative forms part of NITDA’s Strategic Roadmap for 2024 to 2027, which prioritises digital inclusion, skills development and innovation-driven growth across the country.
“For the innovation ecosystem, we have human capital development where we focus on talent building. We are deliberately designing programmes that will train these young people with practical digital skills that can immediately translate into economic value,” Inuwa said.
He added that, beyond training, NITDA plans to support grassroots innovation by providing grants to top-performing innovators.
“At the end of each cohort, we provide grants for the best three innovators from each state to help them scale their solutions,” he said.
The FutureMap Roundtable, organised by the FutureMap Foundation, brought together policymakers, technology ecosystem leaders, startup founders, investors and development partners under the theme: “Building What Works for Northern Nigeria’s Innovation Ecosystem.”
Inuwa expressed concern over what he described as the weak state of the technology and innovation ecosystem in Northern Nigeria, despite the region’s large population and abundance of talent.
“The North has innovators, but innovation does not happen in isolation. You cannot succeed if everyone is working alone,” he said.
According to him, the absence of strong collaboration among government, private sector players, academia and development partners has slowed innovation growth in the region.
“We must work together as stakeholders. There must be a strategic place where the ecosystem can come together to achieve common goals,” he added.
The NITDA boss also stressed that states must design innovation frameworks that reflect their peculiar strengths and challenges.
“Each state must adopt its own framework based on the uniqueness of its ecosystem. That is the only way innovation can be accelerated at the state level,” he said.
On inclusion, Inuwa disclosed that NITDA has developed a National Gender Digital Inclusion Strategy (NGDIS), which mandates that at least 40 per cent of beneficiaries of its programmes must be women and other underserved groups.
“We are intentional about inclusion. At least 40 per cent of our programmes are designed to directly benefit women and marginalised groups,” he said.
He noted that NITDA currently runs several ICT and entrepreneurship training programmes for women across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones, equipping them with skills in areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, graphic design and cybersecurity.
“These initiatives are aimed at enhancing women’s economic independence and professional opportunities in the digital space,” he explained.
Also speaking at the roundtable, the Director-General of the Kano State Information Technology Development Agency (KASITDA), Dr Bashir Abdu Muzakkari, said the state government is rolling out a comprehensive digital literacy and skills programme across Kano.
Muzakkari said the programme would reach all 44 local government areas of the state through a phased implementation strategy.
“Our strategic plan from 2025 to 2030 is to bridge the digital divide by establishing Community Technology Access Centres and local training hubs across the state,” he said.
According to him, Kano State plans to train at least 1.5 million youths in digital skills between 2025 and 2030.
“The focus areas include digital marketing, cybersecurity, graphic design, data analysis and web development,” Mr Muzakkari said.
He expressed optimism that deliberations from the roundtable would lead to the development of a policy framework that would strengthen the technology and innovation ecosystem in northwestern Nigeria.
“We believe that at the end of this engagement, we will develop policies that will guide the region to compete favourably with other parts of the country in terms of innovation and technology,” he said.
The Executive Director of the FutureMap Foundation, Ahmad Rabi’u Shuaibu, described the roundtable as a platform designed to bridge the gap between policy intent and realities on the ground.
“The FutureMap Roundtable is a high-level convening meant to foster meaningful dialogue between government leaders, ecosystem builders, innovators, private sector players and development partners,” Shuaibu said.
He explained that the forum would assess the current state of Nigeria’s digital and innovation ecosystem, identify key challenges and opportunities, and align policies with practical solutions.
“Stakeholders will prioritise the top ten ecosystem challenges and the top ten opportunities and produce practical recommendations to guide ecosystem development and policy alignment,” he added.
Adding a private sector perspective, the Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Farmatrix Agro, Nyifamu Manzo, said the roundtable was timely, given the growing need for collaboration within Nigeria’s innovation space.
“I am optimistic that these deliberations will lead to actionable decisions, not just from government but also from ecosystem enablers,” she said.
Nyifamu stressed the importance of ensuring that founders, particularly in the North, are connected to the right infrastructure, networks and funding opportunities.
“What innovators need is connectivity to the right policies, the right partners and the right support systems,” she added.
