The 2025 Bootcamp marked another defining milestone in DSN’s bold mission to train one million AI talents within ten years and position Africa as a global hub for inclusive and sustainable technological innovation.

This year’s edition attracted over 32,000 applications from across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, a record that underscores the growing national appetite for AI capacity development and the trust DSN has earned as the continent’s foremost AI learning and research non-profit.

Through a rigorous multi-stage process that assessed technical aptitude, problem-solving potential, and collaborative mindset, only 150 of the most outstanding learners emerged as finalists and were invited to the fully residential, all-expenses-paid Bootcamp hosted at the University of Lagos.

The Bootcamp’s curriculum was designed to deliver an end-to-end learning experience that merged technical depth with social impact. Participants explored cutting-edge themes such as Generative and Agentic AI, Geospatial Intelligence, Digital Public Infrastructure, Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Responsible AI.

The training followed a structured model that progressed from foundational sessions to advanced project development, enabling participants to transition quickly from concept to deployable prototypes with real-world relevance.

The approach reflected DSN’s enduring philosophy of “learning, building, and sharing,” ensuring that every participant not only gained world-class knowledge but also understood how to apply it toward solving Africa’s most pressing challenges.

The Bootcamp was powered by a strong coalition of global partners and industry leaders, including Microsoft, Meta, MTN, Google DeepMind, Boaz Integrated Energy, Hyperspace, NVIDIA, NitHub, EqualyzAI, TechCabal, Askya Investment, the Fintech Association of Nigeria, and the University of Lagos. These organizations brought together expertise, resources, and mentorship, making the programme a world-class experience.

In all, 32 renowned experts from across the globe facilitated technical and strategy sessions, drawing from institutions such as the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Mastercard Foundation, Access Holdings Plc, Interswitch Group, MTN, PwC, PIC, ARM, the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, WorldPop, and the University of Southampton.

Among the high points of the Bootcamp were the masterclasses delivered by some of the most respected voices in technology and development.

Dr. Uyi Stewart, Chief Data and Technology Officer at Data.org, shared an inspiring keynote on “AI for Inclusive Growth,” emphasizing how data and technology can accelerate social progress.

Olubunmi Okunowo and Toyosi Odukoya led an engaging session on how open-source frameworks and Digital Public Infrastructure can enable national development and inclusive service delivery.

Dr. Chris Nnanatu’s presentation on “Powering Africa’s Growth with Location Intelligence” highlighted the transformative power of geospatial data for economic and environmental planning.

Collectively, these sessions underscored the thematic focus of this year’s Bootcamp, that Africa’s future in AI must be both inclusive and indigenous, built on solutions that reflect local realities and global best practices.

Beyond classroom learning, the participants participated in a high-impact Hackathon designed to convert theory into tangible solutions.

Working in multidisciplinary teams, the learners tackled real-world problems across healthcare, agriculture, financial inclusion, and public service delivery sectors.

One of the most inspiring moments came from EqualyzAI, a DSN-incubated startup, which showcased its pioneering work on localizing Small Language Models (SLMs) for African languages.

The demonstration aligned with DSN’s ongoing work in AI for social good and reflected the broader vision of building equitable digital futures for Africa’s linguistically diverse population.

The Bootcamp culminated in an awards ceremony celebrating excellence, creativity, and community spirit.

The DSN Community at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA) emerged as the AI School of the Year, a recognition sponsored by Boaz Integrated Energy and Hyperspace, and received a $1,000 grant to establish a mini AI library that will serve as a lasting legacy of continuous learning on campus.

Individual awards also highlighted exceptional performance: the Mr. & Ms. Algorithm Awards, sponsored by Microsoft, celebrated participants who demonstrated commitment and core values of DSN Community; Best Academic Poster, sponsored by Google DeepMind; Best Hackathon Project, sponsored by MTN Foundation; and Best Project Participation, also supported by Microsoft, all rewarded brilliance and consistency with tiered cash prizes.

In addition, every participant received a Microsoft-sponsored certification voucher, a tangible step that enhances employability and global recognition in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

Throughout the Bootcamp, industry partners played a visible role not only as sponsors but as co-educators, mentors, and advocates for inclusive innovation.

Their contributions underscored a shared belief that Africa’s competitiveness in the global digital economy depends on collective investment in human capital and home-grown innovation.

The partnership between DSN and Microsoft continued to provide the foundational bridge between learning and opportunity, through advanced skilling, access to certification, and exposure to real-world AI applications.

In his closing remarks, Dr. Olubayo Adekanmbi, Data Science Nigeria’s founder and chief executive officer, reflected on the transformative journey of the AI Bootcamp since its inception.

He described the 2025 edition as reaffirming the belief that Africa’s future will not be imported but intelligently built by its people.

He urged participants to act as ambassadors of knowledge, extend the mentorship culture, and replicate the Bootcamp’s impact within their local communities.

“We have built not just coders but catalysts, people who will use AI to solve Africa’s most pressing challenges,” he said. “As you have freely received, freely give.”

The 8th Data Science Nigeria AI Bootcamp is a powerful testament to the potential of strategic collaboration, purposeful learning, and inclusive access.

It represents a generation of young innovators equipped with technical competence and a shared vision of using AI as a tool for national transformation and global relevance.

As the participants return to their campuses, startups, and communities, they carry the collective energy of an ecosystem determined to make AI work for all, ensuring that Africa’s intelligence revolution remains open, inclusive, and transformative.

Ufot stated this recently in Abuja at the Gender and Inclusion Summit 2023 convened by the Policy Innovation Centre of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group.

He noted that for this potential to be harnessed there was a need for strategic investment in health, education, infrastructural development and job creation while leveraging technology to deliver sustainable development at scale.

Commenting on the essence of the Summit, Ufot said it was “conceptualised as a platform for dialogue where critical stakeholders from diverse sectors will reflect on new evidence and contextually relevant solutions to disparities in inclusivity in Nigeria.”

He said:

“The Gender and Inclusion Summit has a truly inclusive scope encompassing women, men, children, youth, people with disabilities, and other vulnerable population. This year, we are dedicating considerable time to discuss issues relating to Nigerian youth for many reasons. Nigeria has one of the largest population of youth in the world, about seventy percent of the population is under 35 years old. The median age of youth in Nigeria is 18.1 years and 42% are under the age of 15.”

He commended the efforts of the current government in providing platforms for youth such as the recently launched initiative to train three million tech talents by the Ministry of Communication, Innovation and Digital Economy.

He further underscored the need for “a collective responsibility to develop inclusive approaches to address barriers to quality education, job and internship opportunities and access to health services for Nigeria’s burgeoning youth population.”

Ufot warned that Nigeria cannot afford to have “a large population of poorly educated, poorly skilled, economically unproductive and unhealthy young people.”

He therefore, tasked participants to deliberate on how to lead Nigeria to “a more inclusive nation, where all citizens have equitable access to opportunities and are positioned to realise their God-given potentials in a Nigerian economy that is modern and open, private sector-led, and globally competitive.”

In his remarks, former Governor of Abia State, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, said that following his passion for women’s development, he had signed a law making it possible for women to inherit their fathers’ property and own community land. The law, he explained, allows them to be allocated land as against the customs and tradition which made it difficult for them to own land in their communities.

He said:

“Today in Abia State, female children can now inherit their fathers’ property. Now it’s an offence for female children not to be allocated land. The female children can now inherit their fathers’ property.”

Ikpeazu also recalled that he had signed a law against the discrimination of disabled persons, which made it compulsory for all houses in Abia State to be designed with ramps to enable the disabled easy access.

The theme for the 2023 summit was “Building Bridges:  Advancing Gender & Inclusion Through the Intersection of Trade & Health.”

The event provided a platform for all the relevant industry experts to brainstorm and dialogue on issues bordering on special focused areas, such as inclusive digital transformation, ensuring sustainability in the digital ecosystem, access to broadband and infrastructure, local and foreign investments, developing effective policies, Nigerian Startup Bill, etc.

Stakeholders Suggestions

In ensuring that Nigeria continues to build a digital economy that is sustainable and inclusive, stakeholders at the gathering suggested the following:

• An integrated global economy driven by technology.
• Collaboration between the government and operators to deepen Internet access,
• Reducing Dollar dependency.
• Providing the right policies and regulations to attract both local and foreign investors,
• Sensitization of communities where broadband is deployed,
• Single digit interest rate.
• Reducing bureaucracies
• More participation of tech-driven youths in the public sector
• Ensuring the ease of doing business
• Growing the economy
• A strong legal framework to encourage foreign investors.
• Lowering the barriers to entry.
• Democratizing investments.
• And a plethora of other solutions.

With all the ideas and suggestions at the event, the goal of the PlC would be to collaborate with the government to ensure a synchronized design and implementation of policies that will aid digital inclusion.

The Digital Access Programme

Dr. Osasuyi Dirisu, Deputy Director, PIC said the Digital Access Programme is the UK government’s flagship initiative, led by the FCDO, an integrated partnership in designing digital culture, media, and sports.

She said the idea was to support sustainable digital inclusion and transformation in partnership with key stakeholders.

“We cannot achieve digital inclusion and transformation if we do not come and put our heads together, gather the resources and collaborate effectively to ensure that we do this.”

PIC is the first public policy institution in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa tasked with applying behavioral theory and other innovative policy tools to inform policy design and implementation in Africa.

The Digital Access Programme’ is an FCDO-led partnership that aims to catalyze more inclusive, affordable, safe and secure digital access for excluded and underserved communities in Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil, and Indonesia.

Increased digital inclusion in the programme countries will form the basis for more thriving digital ecosystems that generate high-skilled jobs, opportunities for local digital entrepreneurship focused on country-specific development challenges, as well as potential partnerships with international and UK businesses aimed at mutual prosperity. 

On the UK Government’s Support for Nigeria’s Digital Economy, Guy Harrison, Economic Counselor to the UK Government, who represented the FCDO, said ICT contributes significantly to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and has grown to become a sustainable source of employment generation and foreign exchange for the Nigerian economy.

According to him, Africa’s largest economy has benefited from the UK government through the UK-Nigeria tech hub that provides support for the tech ecosystem; the Security Exchange Commission, with tech financial regulation, and the energy regulator to encourage the rollout of digital solutions.

“We’ve seen very exciting developments in the last few years and lots of investment, that’s the positive side, we’ve seen the expansion of the existing cable network, which arrived at the shore of Lagos.”

He said it was important to create a sense of support and partnership between the public and private sectors to create a framework that can provide the right regulations and provide safeguards that encourage the private sectors to contribute more to the Nigerian economy.

Remarks

According to Oladiwura Oladepo, Co-founder and Executive Director, Tech4DeV, building the future of Africa’s digital economy must be inclusive regardless of gender, disability, race, or religion.

Oladiwura who is actively involved in empowering women with digital skills through different initiatives, presented a keynote address on ‘Leveraging Gender and Inclusion for Digital Economic Growth in Nigeria’.

She explained that Nigeria must unravel the challenge of building a prosperous, digital Nigeria and Africa.

“We have what it takes and we have been doing it over the years, we begin to see the making of a beautiful picture.

“But it’s impossible to solve a puzzle when you are missing its most important pieces; this is why as we sit and deliberate today, the how, the what, and when for Nigeria’s Digital future, we must make sure we include every ‘who’ – Nobody should be left behind,” she added.

Faisal Naru, Executive Director, PIC, said in driving a sustainable and inclusive digital economy, it was evident that there was a need to have such a gathering where everybody from both private and public sectors could figure out the necessary actions, initiatives, and policies.

“We are breaking down some of the silos in these conversations, have the different actors that are here in the room come together, and to be able to start to discuss what is really going on and also start to explain themselves around what are some of the needs to have a better enabling environment for digital services and digital enterprises.”

According to Naru, given the pace at which Nigeria’s digital economy is growing and expanding, there is quite a huge opportunity, adding that digital opportunity goes beyond structuring all actions, plans, and policies into technology.

“This is not only just for Nigeria but also for Africa as well. Nigeria is quite uniquely positioned in lots of different ways. But within that opportunity, there are lots of other things as well. One of those things is so not simply building everything that you normally do into the ICT. That’s not the digital opportunity.”

Naru explained that digital opportunities are to make things better, and more efficient, do things that were ordinarily not possible to do, and overall digital transformation.

Further, he said, beyond the need to have conversations and the opportunities therein, there is a responsibility for everybody from all the sectors to achieve the goal of a sustainable digital transformation and inclusion, not just the government.

“There are lots of conversations that have happened and lots of things around the responsibility for making the digital economy happen, for making it so access happens to make digital inclusion happen. That responsibility is not online.

“So, it’s not only for the government to make the right policies and laws. It’s also for the private sector, to develop the right services, and to have the recruitment, where you are genuinely inclusive.”