Nigeria targets one million export-linked tech jobs in new talent campaign
The Nigerian government has unveiled a national campaign to export remote digital services, aiming to generate foreign exchange and diversify the economy away from oil through one million new global jobs.
The Federal Government launched the “Hire from Nigeria” campaign on Monday in Abuja, seeking to secure one million export-linked jobs for its citizens over the next five years. Information Minister Mohammed Idris announced the initiative as a strategy to market the country’s workforce to international employers and generate vital foreign exchange inflows.
This pivot represents a structural shift for Africa’s largest economy, moving its export focus beyond physical commodities and crude oil toward digital services. For global business process outsourcing firms and technology investors, the initiative signals a coordinated state effort to build a reliable, remote-ready talent pipeline. It also offers a potential buffer against the foreign exchange volatility that has historically pressured the naira.
To meet global demand, the government is scaling its technical training infrastructure. Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa cited 2025 UNESCO data indicating roughly 2.3 million global vacancies across seven technology sectors. In response, the state will train 35,000 Nigerians over six months through the Digital Technology Academy, providing fully funded international certifications through platforms including AWS, Microsoft, Huawei and Coursera.
Industry, Trade and Investment Minister Dr. Jumoke Oduwole described the rollout as a public-private collaboration involving the National Talent Export Programme and the Bank of Industry’s iDICE initiative. She noted that the campaign reframes the national export strategy to prioritize skills and digital services over traditional resource extraction.
Idris emphasized that the objective is to keep earnings and talent within the country while serving overseas clients. “With the right skills, infrastructure, professional standards, and access to markets, Nigerians can live and work and earn here at home, while providing valuable services to clients and employers worldwide,” he said. He added that the global market should look to Nigeria, describing the local workforce as prepared to compete internationally.
The campaign builds on the National Talent Export Programme, which the government relaunched in June 2025 to capture a share of the global outsourcing market. That programme targets one million direct jobs and up to five million indirect roles within the five-year window.
In June 2026, the programme announced a new financing framework to scale this export-led growth and expand globally recognized certifications. This follows a May partnership with Coursera to train 36,000 youths in artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
The state is already integrating trained workers into the global supply chain. Communications Minister Dr. Bosun Tijani noted in August 2025 that the government was partnering with business process outsourcing companies to place graduates from the 3 Million Technical Talent programme. At that time, over 117,000 individuals had completed the training.
