(L–R) …Director-General, Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), Comrade Salihu Abdulhamid Dembos; Founder and President, Tech4Dev, Joel Ogunsola; Honourable Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Olatunji Alausa; Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, fnipr; Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole; Special Adviser to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Media and Public Communications, Sunday Dare; Director-General, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Dr. Mohammed Bulama; and Senior Special Assistant, Strategic Communication & NATEP, Office of the Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Olajumoke Dan-Okayi, during the Press Conference for the launch of the “Hire for Nigeria” Campaign on August 31, 2026, in Abuja.
Favour Ishember, Abuja and Chidimma Uchegbu, Abuja
Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Jumoke Oduwole on Sunday unveiled the “Hire From Nigeria” Campaign as a market-focused push to place Nigerian professionals and service providers directly in front of global employers, outsourcing firms and investors.
Oduwole announced the initiative at the official launch, saying it will be driven through the National Talent Export Programme (NATEP) alongside private-sector and development partners.
The goal, she stated, is to secure one million jobs tied to exports by 2030. She noted that Nigeria already has a large pool of professionals, an expanding tech ecosystem, a robust services sector and a favorable time zone — assets the country must now turn into overseas contracts, foreign exchange and investment.
Backing the rollout, the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa urged tighter integration between Nigeria’s learning and skills system and international demand. Speaking at the same event, he said the objective is to equip young Nigerians to win global jobs and deliver services to foreign clients without leaving the country.
Alausa described the campaign as a concrete delivery of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, and a way to convert Nigeria’s large youth population into an economic engine. He said the Education Ministry is building a pipeline of skilled, certified and job-ready Nigerians who can compete abroad.
Reforms underway, he explained, now prioritize hands-on training over theory. More than 200,000 Nigerians are currently being trained across over 1,200 skills centres nationwide. The model has shifted to 80 percent practical and 20 percent theory, with learners tested and certified through national skills assessment bodies.
Alausa also disclosed plans for a Digital Technology Academy, being built with the Ministry of Information and National Orientation. The academy is projected to train more than 35,000 Nigerians in software engineering, cybersecurity, IT automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning, natural language processing, cloud computing and quantum computing.
The intensive six-to-eight-month course will award professional certificates to boost graduates’ chances in the global tech market. He added that collaborations with international tech giants such as Amazon Web Services are scaling digital learning in universities, with almost 50 institutions already signed onto the AWS Online Academy.
Providing data to support the campaign, Oduwole said NATEP and the United Nations Development Programme have completed a digital services survey and directory covering providers in 17 industries. Over 90 percent of the firms surveyed are based in Nigeria. Forty-one percent of digital founders are under 35, and established companies already operate in an average of 2.6 foreign markets.
The “Hire From Nigeria” pitch will go global on September 24 during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the Nigerian House in New York, where BPO buyers, international employers, investors and strategic partners will be invited to explore hiring and investment opportunities.
On the messaging front, Minister of Information and National Orientation, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, said the campaign reflects how trade now works where expertise, creativity and professional services cross borders digitally. He pledged his ministry’s support to promote the brand locally and internationally, citing Nigeria’s young population, English fluency, entrepreneurial drive and growing tech and creative industries as key advantages.
Former Minister and Special Guest, Dr. Sunday Dare, praised Alausa for delivering measurable gains in education and for steering learning away from theory toward technical and practical skills. He said a well-trained, tech-savvy youth population can build world-class outsourcing and technology industries, and stressed that education remains central to poverty reduction and economic change.
Olajumoke Dan-Okayi, Senior Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and NATEP in the Industry Ministry, outlined the structures being put in place: the National Coordination Mechanism for Services Exports, the Nigeria Talent Accelerator Network, and Nigeria’s role as Country Partner for the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2026. She added that a National Outsourcing Policy expected in November 2026 will further boost competitiveness in Business Process Outsourcing, Global Business Services and remote digital work.
Joel Ogunsola, Founder and President of Tech4Dev, said Nigeria has long exported talent informally but has not fully monetized it. He said “Hire From Nigeria” will tackle visibility, credibility and access by creating clear routes for graduates, technical trainees, digital professionals, non-graduates and creatives to land international work from home.
The campaign is a joint effort of the Federal Ministries of Education, Industry Trade and Investment, Information and National Orientation, Labour and Employment, and Foreign Affairs, working with NATEP, Tech4Dev, the Bank of Industry’s iDICE programme, universities and other private and development partners.
Alausa assured that the Education Ministry will keep deepening reforms to make learning more practical, industry-driven and aligned with the future of work, while expanding technical, vocational and digital training and certification.
He reiterated that the Tinubu administration remains committed to building a skilled, productive and globally connected workforce that creates value in Nigeria and contributes meaningfully to the world economy.
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