ABUJA, — Nigeria’s fast-expanding digital economy is running into a tightening constraint: a widening shortage of industry-ready technical talent that analysts warn could erode an estimated $11 billion in annual value and slow the government’s plan to lift ICT’s contribution to GDP to 21% by 2027.
The warning featured prominently at a public hearing on the National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill 2025, where the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, said ICT’s contribution—about 16% in previous years—is now approaching 19%, with the government projecting further gains as part of its broader growth agenda.
Official output data underscores the sector’s momentum. The National Bureau of Statistics reported that the information and communications sector grew 31.63% year-on-year in nominal terms in Q1 2025, with 8.35% quarter-on-quarter growth, lifting its share of nominal GDP to 10.29%.
But stakeholders say the pace is exposing a structural fault line: demand for advanced digital skills is rising faster than the supply of competent workers. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has cited studies— including an ITU assessment—showing employers require advanced digital skills from roughly 30% of staff, while only about 11% of workers currently possess them.
Talent concerns are also acute at entry level. The Digital Bridge Institute has warned that only 7% of Nigerians aged 15–24 have marketable ICT skills, leaving a thin pipeline for roles in cloud, cybersecurity, data and software engineering.
Corporate employers say the mismatch is already raising costs and stretching delivery timelines. A recent sector report quoted Layer3’s Chief People Officer, Elsie Nemieboka, describing a surge of “paper engineers”—candidates with certificates but limited exposure to real production environments—forcing firms into retraining and heavier supervision.
Government agencies point to active interventions. NITDA says it is targeting 70% digital literacy by 2027, including plans to train 50 million Nigerians, while the federal 3MTT programme is positioned as a pipeline for technical talent development.
Industry leaders, however, argue that closing the gap will require tighter coordination between education providers and employers, stronger apprenticeship pathways, and incentives that make large-scale upskilling economically viable—before skills scarcity becomes a ceiling on Nigeria’s digital growth story.
