Nigeria and Microsoft partner to scale digital transformation and create 27,000 jobs
The Nigerian government and Microsoft announced a new partnership to boost the country’s digital economy with a special focus on three main areas: connectivity, skilling, and digital transformation. Within this collaboration, Microsoft will deploy its Airband Initiative to provide high-speed internet connectivity to underserved communities which would target six regions in the country. Microsoft will further target 5 million people in Nigeria with blended online and in-person training courses for youth and government workers. ‘Government will also be given the tools to digitally transform skilling, education, and employment methods to match job seekers with the right employers. In doing so, we hope to create over 27,000 new digital jobs in the next three years. We are setting ourselves a big goal, to bring access to digital skills to five million people in Nigeria over the next three years. But this is not something we can do by ourselves. We will equip master trainers and, along with them, are committed to creating thousands of new jobs,’ said Microsoft President Brad Smith.