Osita Oparaugo, founder and CEO of GetBundi.

Osita Oparaugo, founder and CEO of GetBundi, an educational technology platform, has encouraged Nigeria's government and regulatory organisations to prioritise digital skills in indigenous languages.

He believes that this method will help the country learn and adopt digital skills more effectively.

Oparaugo made the statement at the NITDA co-create event in Lagos this week, when he chatted with Samuel Olomu, an ITWeb Nigerian Correspondent.

He emphasised that the language barrier is one of the most significant barriers to the adoption of digital skills in Nigeria and must be addressed with greatest urgency.

GetBundi is an educational technology platform that focuses on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education for post-primary schools and digital skills courses for individuals across Africa. It is also the first digital learning platform to train people in their local languages.

"We offer our digital skills courses in the three major languages in Nigeria—Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa—and also in Pidgin English to enhance accessibility for Africans giving the conclusion of studies by the World Bank, UNESCO, and others that using an instructional language that is closest to the people is crucial, especially for learning foundational skills," he said.

He emphasised that in the fast changing digital landscape, the African continent lags behind the rest of the globe in terms of those with digital capabilities.

In 2022, African countries scored between 1.8 and 5 on the Digital Skills Gap Index, which is lower than the worldwide average of 6 and Oparaugo ascribed this disparity to the absence of language in digital skills education.

To ensure a better comprehension, he emphasised the importance of decolonising the learning process by combining local languages, pointing out that GetBundi has hired foreign teachers and professionals in a variety of fields to assure global learning standards.

"Our goal by 2026 is to have 15 professional digital skills courses available in 7 indigenous languages spoken throughout Africa. We aim to upskill 10 million African workers through the initiative 'The GetBundi Vision 2034,' which aligns with the African Union Agenda 2063," he continued.

Oparaugo further underlined that African countries must recognise that providing their youth with essential digital skills improves their competitiveness and enables them to contribute to technical breakthroughs and the continent's economic prosperity.