It started with a phone call from my friend’s son in Ikorodu. A fresh graduate in computer science, he had applied to dozens of jobs online, from data annotation to chatbot testing, but no luck. “They say they’re hiring globally,” he sighed, “but they don’t mean Nigeria.”
Meanwhile, in Toronto, another Nigerian: same age, same degree, just signed a $15,000 contract to fine-tune AI prompts for a U.S. tech startup. His edge? He had access, mentorship, and a profile on the right platform.
This isn’t a skills gap. It’s a systems gap.
But what if we plug that gap?
What if Nigeria didn’t just consume AI products from the West but became the world’s leading exporter of AI-skilled remote workers?
That’s the vision behind the Nigeria AI Talent Factory Initiative (NATFI), a bold proposal to train, certify, and connect 500,000 Nigerian youth to high-paying AI roles across the globe by 2030.
Yes, the world is hiring. No, we’re not yet ready. But with a factory-style pipeline and focused investment, Nigeria can turn its biggest liability, youth unemployment, into its biggest digital export.
Global demand, Nigerian supply
Here’s the good news: the global economy is starving for AI talent. McKinsey, LinkedIn, and the World Economic Forum estimate over 4 million AI-related job openings globally by 2026. These roles aren’t just for PhDs in Silicon Valley. Many involve tasks like:
· Data labelling (used to train AI)
· Prompt engineering (used to guide AI outputs)
· Model testing and chatbot design, niche around African languages
Companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google already outsource these tasks to India, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
Nigeria, with its young, English-speaking population (70% under 35), is a natural fit. But we need to act with purpose and structure.
A factory model for AI talent
The NATFI plan proposes a three-tiered training structure, mapped directly to global outsourcing needs:
· Tier 1 (3–6 months):
Roles: Data labellers, annotation specialists
Output: 150,000 trained workers
· Tier 2 (6–12 months):
Roles: Prompt engineers, chatbot developers, etc.
Output: 100,000 job-ready professionals
· Tier 3 (12–18 months):
Roles: ML engineers, NLP experts, AI product managers
Output: 50,000 advanced-level talents
Training would happen at AI Workforce Campuses in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Kano in specially created facilities in collaboration with top universities of Nigeria and the corporate houses, which can be given some tax incentives for collaborating in this initiative, each hosting 5,000+ learners with:
· Starlink/fibre internet
· Solar-plus-grid-powered systems
· High-performance laptops & GPUs
· Dormitories for rural intakes
This is not a classroom concept. It’s a digital production line with global clients waiting.
The NAIX: A local gateway to global work
Nigeria must go beyond training. We must connect talent.
The National AI Outsourcing Exchange (NAIX) will be a one-stop digital platform for:
· Global clients to hire certified Nigerian AI workers
· Secure, wallet-based payments (via Flutterwave, Paystack, etc.)
· Talent portfolios and ratings
Think Upwork, but built for AI—and proudly Nigerian.
Who gets in? Who benefits?
The goal: Enrol 50,000+ youth per training cycle.
· Priority to unemployed graduates, NYSC members
· Gender equity (target: 40% women participants)
· Rural talent supported through scholarships and hostels
This must be a national movement, with mobilisation through religious institutions, community leaders, and youth ministries.
What will it take?
To make NATFI succeed, we must deliver on three fronts:
1. Infrastructure
o High-speed internet (via Starlink or national fibre rollout)
o Reliable electricity (solar microgrids + national grid backup)
o AI training centre incentives
2. Policy
o Tax breaks for global companies hiring Nigerian AI workers
o “Work-from-Nigeria” visa for remote-first firms with certain tax breaks and permission to operate a virtual presence without setting up a physical office in Nigeria.
o Pro-growth AI regulations
3. Funding
o Government seed funding
o Donor support (AfDB, Google.org, World Bank)
o Public-private partnership, learner stipends and device leasing for students.
What Nigeria stands to gain
By 2030, if implemented with discipline, NATFI can deliver:
· 300,000+ remote AI jobs
· $750 Million+ in annual foreign exchange
· Global recognition as a top 10 AI outsourcing destination
· Boosted digital GDP and innovation in healthcare, agriculture, and education
From frustration to freedom
Let’s go back to that boy in Ikorodu. Today, he’s stuck refreshing job boards. But with something like NATFI in place, he could be:
· Labelling images for a radiology AI in Germany
· Designing prompts for a fintech chatbot in Canada
· Doing it all from Nigeria, earning in dollars, changing his family’s future
NATFI is about visualising a new Nigeria full of hope and realising potential. It isn’t just a project and would require continuous improvement, but it’s possible if we have visionary leadership and political will that think beyond the religious, ethical, and tribal boundaries. It’s a counter-narrative. A story where Nigerian talent is exported not through airports, but through undersea cables.
The world is hiring. Let Nigeria be the one supplying.
About the author:
Colonel Manish Kochhar is the CEO of Telenoetica Digital Innovation Africa Ltd (TDIAL, a technology startup) and former Head of Optical Networks at Globacom. With a master’s in telecommunications and IT and a PG diploma in AI-ML, he is a technology enthusiast who writes on technical and business matters.
