Nigeria is positioning itself as a leader in artificial intelligence through its national strategy and recent partnerships. A new report by Microsoft, PwC, and Lagos Business School highlights early successes and outlines a roadmap for broader adoption. The initiative aims to drive economic growth across sectors like agriculture and fintech.
Nigeria's National AI Strategy marks a pivotal shift, elevating artificial intelligence from a conceptual goal to a national priority for economic growth, social development, and technological leadership. Released amid growing digital density and a young workforce, the strategy leverages the country's over 200 million population, increasing smartphone penetration, and vibrant startup ecosystem as foundational strengths for AI advancement.
A recent report by Microsoft, in partnership with PwC and Lagos Business School, underscores Nigeria's early successes in fintech, agriculture, and health tech. It spotlights initiatives like the Three Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and Microsoft’s AI Skills Navigator, aimed at bridging the digital skills gap. The report stresses the need for robust governance, infrastructure improvements, and ethical frameworks to sustain progress.
Opportunities abound in key sectors. In agriculture, AI could enhance crop yields and supply chain visibility for smallholder farmers. Logistics stands to benefit from optimized routing and reduced urban congestion in cities like Lagos and Port Harcourt. Energy challenges, such as erratic power supply, present chances for innovation in predictive maintenance and smart microgrids. Fintech, already dominant with mobile money and fraud detection, is poised for AI-driven automation.
Global players are committing resources: Microsoft’s AI Skilling Initiative targets training one million Nigerians by 2026, while Google supports AI research hubs and cloud infrastructure across Africa. However, governance remains critical. Nigeria's data protection authority fined Meta $220 million, followed by a $32.8 million settlement, for mishandling user data, highlighting the need for data sovereignty and ethical standards to build trust.
The roadmap calls for power infrastructure reforms, nationwide talent scaling, transparent data audits, funding for local AI pilots in energy and agriculture, and a cross-sector AI council to align public-private efforts. As author Kevwe Onome-Irikefe notes, 'innovation thrives where infrastructure and ethics meet,' positioning Nigeria for global influence in AI.