The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and 251 partner organisations have recorded 2.77 million digital skills training achievements across Nigeria in three years, representing 5.54 per cent of the Federal Government’s target of reaching 50 million beneficiaries by 2027.
The figure was disclosed through the National Digital Literacy Dashboard unveiled at the 2026 National Digital Literacy Workshop in Abuja, which showed that 252 organisations are reporting digital literacy interventions across the country’s 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and all 774 local government areas.
Cisco emerged as the largest contributor, with 1,073,604 training achievements, followed by NITDA with 960,424 and Meta Platforms Inc. with 333,816.
The interventions form part of the Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) programme, spearheaded by NITDA to equip Nigerians with the digital competencies required to participate effectively in the country’s growing digital economy.
Speaking at the workshop, NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, said digital literacy had become as fundamental as reading, writing and numeracy, particularly as artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies reshape work, education, business and public service delivery.
“Our ambition is not to turn every Nigerian into an IT professional. Our ambition is to make every Nigerian digitally capable,” Inuwa said.
He explained that digital skills should enable Nigerians to improve their existing occupations and livelihoods, citing how traders could manage records and receive digital payments, farmers could access weather forecasts and market information, teachers could enhance classroom learning, and public servants could deliver more efficient services.
The dashboard revealed that young people below 35 accounted for 2.09 million of the reported training achievements, while informal-sector workers represented 1.61 million. Women accounted for 32.9 per cent of beneficiaries, while 65,767 rural residents and 17,156 persons with disabilities were recorded.
These figures highlight the reach of ongoing interventions while underscoring the need to improve digital skills access for women, rural communities and persons with disabilities.
Companies account for 151 of the 252 reporting organisations, representing 59.9 per cent. Government institutions account for 43 organisations, while non-governmental organisations contribute 34, with cooperatives, community organisations and other entities making up the remainder.
Inuwa said the dashboard would improve coordination among stakeholders, help identify underserved communities and provide a clearer picture of the impact of investments in digital literacy.
He noted that the absence of coordinated reporting had sometimes resulted in multiple organisations delivering similar interventions in the same communities while other areas remained underserved.
“At NITDA, we see our role as an ecosystem orchestrator,” he said, adding that the agency was working to establish standards, partnerships and coordination mechanisms that would maximise the collective impact of digital skills initiatives.
The Director-General, however, cautioned that the 2.77 million figure represented reported training achievements and should not automatically be interpreted as the number of unique Nigerians who had attained a defined level of digital proficiency.
He said training records must be complemented by assessments measuring participants’ acquired competencies and their ability to apply digital skills to improve their businesses, jobs and livelihoods.
The National Digital Literacy Framework, established in 2023, identifies six competence areas: device and software operations; information and data literacy; communication and collaboration; digital content creation; digital safety; and problem-solving.
NITDA launched the DL4ALL programme in 2024 to translate the framework into practical interventions across formal education, workforce development and the informal sector. Its partnership with the National Youth Service Corps has also deployed Digital Literacy Champions to markets and communities, with programme records showing more than 20,000 trainers and over 803,000 trainees through the informal-sector initiative.
The national framework targets 70 per cent digital literacy by 2027 and 95 per cent by 2030, supporting the government’s broader ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Stakeholders at the workshop called on state governments, technology companies, educational institutions, development partners and civil society organisations to register their interventions and provide credible data to the dashboard.
They stressed that achieving the national digital literacy targets would require stronger collaboration, wider inclusion and a greater emphasis on measurable outcomes to ensure that digital skills translate into improved productivity and economic opportunities for Nigerians.