FG, Meta plan AI academy to boost Nigeria’s tech talent

The Federal Ministry of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy has partnered with Meta, the 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme and Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Nigeria (RAIN) to launch an Artificial Intelligence Academy.

The initiative is designed to expand Nigeria’s pool of AI talent and strengthen the country’s technology ecosystem by providing participants with practical skills, technical support and opportunities to develop and commercialise AI-powered solutions.

The academy will feature three major components: AI skills development, a startup pitchathon and a six-week developer bootcamp.

Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said the initiative reflected the government’s commitment to developing Nigeria’s AI ecosystem through public-private partnerships.

“Through this partnership, we are equipping developers, entrepreneurs, and young professionals with practical AI skills while creating pathways for innovation and globally competitive startups,” Tijani said.

The skills development programme will be open to members of the wider 3MTT community and will cover generative AI, prompt engineering, multimodal AI, data analytics and application development using Meta’s Llama models.

The courses will be delivered through platforms including Coursera, DeepLearning.AI and DataCamp at no cost to participants.

The top 100 performers will be eligible for scholarships towards Meta Blueprint certifications and up to 5,000 dollars in advertising credits.

The initiative will also feature an AI Startup Pitchathon targeting Nigeria’s emerging startup ecosystem.

Applications for the pitchathon close on Aug. 21, with 10 startups expected to be selected to pitch at GITEX Nigeria on Sept. 3.

Two winning startups will each receive 5,000 dollars in cash funding and 2,000 dollars in Meta advertising credits.

They will also receive an all-expenses-paid opportunity to represent Nigeria at Meta’s AI Summit in Istanbul, Türkiye, in November.

Meta’s Head of Public Policy, Anglophone West Africa, Ms Sade Dada, said Nigeria had some of Africa’s most dynamic AI talent but needed greater access to practical training, funding and platforms to develop impactful solutions.

The six-week Developer Bootcamp, to be delivered by RAIN, will provide selected developers and startups with intensive hands-on training to build functional AI products and market-ready solutions.

Participants will also receive technical guidance and access to Meta’s AI experts.

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RAIN, Dr Olushola Ayoola, said the partnership demonstrated the importance of coordinated efforts in building Nigeria’s AI capabilities.

The partnership builds on the Federal Government’s 3MTT programme, which seeks to develop a pipeline of technically skilled Nigerians for the country’s digital economy.

The initiative comes as artificial intelligence continues to influence technology development, business productivity and the creation of digital products, with stakeholders seeking to position Nigeria as a competitive player in the global digital economy. (Punch Newspapers)