Microsoft has trained four million Nigerians in digital skills over the last three years, with 70,000 earning globally recognised certifications, as part of a national skilling partnership launched in 2021.
The initiative, developed in collaboration with the Nigerian government and local institutions, was designed to address rising unemployment and the country’s widening digital skills gap. When discussions began in 2021, the goal was to reach five million Nigerians with future-ready skills in areas such as artificial intelligence, software development, data engineering, and cloud computing.
By December 2024, Microsoft said it had reached four million Nigerians through its digital learning platforms. Of that number, about 350,000 actively engaged with training programmes, while 70,000 completed certification pathways and earned Microsoft-backed credentials that are verifiable and recognised globally.
Speaking at a press briefing on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, Nonye Ujam, Director of Government Affairs at Microsoft West Africa, said the partnership was driven primarily by employability concerns rather than technology adoption alone.
“The government was very focused on employability,” Ujam said. “Our conversations were centred on how digital skills could translate into real economic opportunity.”
Nigeria’s unemployment rate was estimated at 35% in 2021 by credit rating agency Agusto, a context that shaped the programme’s design. Microsoft aligned its skilling platforms with government priorities and delivered the programme at a national scale through online tools and local delivery partners.
Microsoft said the distinction between reach and certification was deliberate. According to the company, certification provides proof that learners completed training and met international standards, addressing a major challenge in labour markets where informal learning is common but difficult to validate.
The skilling strategy targeted three groups: organisational leaders in the public and private sectors, developers building digital systems, and everyday technology users. Microsoft said the aim was to ensure that digital transformation was not limited to technical specialists alone.
The programme relied heavily on partnerships with Nigerian institutions. Data Science Nigeria played a key role in curriculum design and delivery. According to Aanu Oyeniran, Business Lead at Data Science Nigeria, the training went beyond generic online content.
“We built blended curricula with Nigerian examples and delivery models that made sense locally,” Oyeniran said.
The delivery model included physical learning hubs and a train-the-trainer approach, allowing facilitators to extend skills into their communities. Oyeniran cited examples of trainers who, after completing Microsoft programmes, began supporting small businesses and training others in their regions.
Microsoft also partnered with Lagos Business School to deliver AI leadership programmes for public sector executives. Olayinka David-West, Dean and Professor of Information Systems at Lagos Business School, said the focus was on building institutional capacity rather than promoting technology for its own sake.
Through the programme, 99 senior public servants from 58 government agencies completed AI leadership training. Participants developed capstone projects aligned with their agencies’ mandates to support the practical application of learning.
Microsoft’s skilling efforts align with Nigeria’s National AI Strategy, a policy framework developed by more than 100 AI experts of Nigerian descent globally. Microsoft participated as an industry partner in the process.
Abideen Yusuf, General Manager of Microsoft Nigeria and Ghana, said Nigeria’s population size and youth demographics make skills development urgent. He noted that AI adoption in Nigeria remains below 10%, despite significant growth potential.
While Nigeria has expanded its digital infrastructure, a September 2025 report identified 26 data centre facilities in the country, none of which are currently equipped to support AI workloads. Microsoft said workforce readiness remains a foundational requirement for broader AI adoption.
The company noted that its publicly reported figures do not include enterprise-focused training programmes delivered within private organisations. Microsoft has since announced an additional one-million-dollar investment to upskill one million more Nigerians and said it aims to reach its original five-million target by June 2026.
Microsoft said it views skills development as a long-term investment, with impact extending beyond initial beneficiaries as trained individuals pass knowledge on to others.
Read Also: https://techsudor.com/coursera-to-merge-with-udemy-in-2-5bn-all-stock-deal/
