Nigeria’s new president Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Nigeria’s new president Bola Ahmed Tinubu has committed to reset Africa’s biggest economy with one million new tech jobs.

“My administration must create meaningful opportunities for our youth. We shall honour our campaign commitment of one million new jobs in the digital economy,” Tinubu said in the capital Abuja on Monday during his inaugural address to the nation.

Tinubu and his team will work with the National Assembly to put in place a multi-dimensional jobs and prosperity bill which will inform his administration’s policy towards digital economy.

According to IMF, Nigeria is the largest economy in Africa with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of $506.6 billion, and in recent months the populous West African nation has been leaning on technology for job creation.

Nigeria recently unveiled a $618 million investment programme, to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the digital, technology and creative industries targeted at job creation.

Former vice president, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo launched the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (I-DICE) programme in March.

i-DICE programme is aimed at upscaling entrepreneurship and innovation in digital technologies and creative industries.

For Tinubu, prior to becoming president, he promised to create one million jobs within two years from taking over office.

“A Tinubu administration will create over 1 million jobs in ICT in the next 24 months. The fine and skilled graduates of the Ogun Tech Hub will be able to find work as they continue to contribute towards our overall economic well-being,” he said back then.

Meanwhile, global networking company Cisco and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in Nigeria have signed a memorandum of understanding with the aim to support the country’s digital transformation agenda and contribute towards digital skills training and development.

“Cisco has a responsibility to both its customers and the greater global community to help solve challenges that impact our daily lives. We accomplish this by providing intelligent and innovative solutions, offering training and education opportunities, empowering communities through digital transformation, and enabling them to participate in the global digital economy. We are looking forward to working with NITDA to help accelerate digitisation in Nigeria,” said Reem Asaad, vice president for Middle East & Africa at Cisco.

NITDA’s acting director, digital literacy and capacity development department, Dr. Amina Sambo, added: “As the agency responsible for regulating and developing Nigeria’s use of information technology, NITDA looks forward to the impact of this engagement. By collaborating with industry leaders like Cisco, we can empower and equip Nigerians with the knowledge and resources they need to participate in the national and global digital economies.”

As part of the collaboration, Cisco’s Incubation and Innovation Centre in Lagos called Cisco EDGE will be used to stimulate innovation and support digitisation initiatives, providing a space where local partners can showcase technologies and host client events.

Within the Cisco EDGE program, the Innovate pillar provides resources and tools to local innovators and entrepreneurs to help them develop more secure, intelligent, and connected solutions. 

The second pillar, called Cisco EDGE Educate, is aimed at transforming the lives of learners, educators, and communities through technology and by offering education and career opportunities.