In a modest room in Kaduna, a 22-year-old developer taps away on his laptop, collaborating with a tech startup based in San Francisco.
He gets paid in dollars, operates beyond time zones, and is helping build innovations utilised half the world away. His story is no longer a rare case but a glimpse into Nigeria’s future reality.
The future of work is here, and our young demographics are sitting front and centre.
From working remotely to gig economies to rising artificial intelligence, the face of work as we know it is being redefined. Rules are being rewritten, and those countries that quickly adapt will gain gargantuan dividends.
For Nigeria, where unemployment and under-employment still loom so large, the digital economy comes as a lifeline. But celebrations of potential are insufficient; we need to turn it into progress through concerted policies, skills-building, and investments in infrastructure.
It is also a young nation, both literally and metaphorically. Our median age is just 16.9 years, so more than 70 percent of this country is under the age of 30.
This contrasts with the highly disparate demographic realities of Europe, Japan, and China, where ageing populations cause economic issues as they demand young, highly skilled workers.
This young energy is Nigeria’s biggest competitive edge. At a time when the rest of the world is experiencing increasing shortfalls of technological skills, the United States alone last year had 4.5 million unfilled tech jobs, and the global economy is desperately looking to source the very commodity we abundantly possess.
Nigeria, if properly developed, stands to be a significant exporter of digital labour, sending skills, as well as services, across the globe, just as we used to ship crude.
However, Nigeria’s demography could be a double-edged sword. If left unchecked, this bulge of youth could increase unemployment, fan insecurity, and waste potential. Our task as a nation is obvious: we must make our demographic dividend productive, future-proof work.
The Promise of the Digital Economy
Many experts argue that Africa’s digital economy is projected to reach $180 billion by 2025 and could rise as high as $712 billion by 2050. For Nigeria, this means new opportunities in fintech, software development, digital marketing, agritech, and the creative industries. Importantly, the digital economy transcends borders. With reliable internet and the right skills, a young Nigerian can compete for contracts in New York, Nairobi, or New Delhi, without ever leaving home.
This is already happening. Andela, once a bold experiment in training African developers for global clients, has now become a major player, connecting talent from across the continent to companies worldwide.
Platforms like Decagon continue to churn out highly skilled professionals ready for international work. Freelancers on sites like Upwork and Fiverr are increasingly Nigerian, earning foreign exchange for themselves and contributing to the wider economy.
Working from anywhere has accelerated since the COVID-19 pandemic and has levelled the playing field. Talent no longer has to physically migrate to contribute on the global stage.
Nigerian devs are designing apps for Silicon Valley, Abuja-based designers are designing logos for companies in Europe, and Nigerian content writers are creating narratives for international brands. It is no longer sporadic wins; it’s the beginning of what is possible where digital expertise intersects global demand.
But for each such success story, there are obstacles restraining millions more. The first and most obvious is infrastructure. Far too often, the aspirations of young Nigerians are frustrated by fluctuating electricity or too costly internet.
Broadband penetration is still patchy, most notably in the countryside, and without cheap data and reliable internet, work-from-wherever cannot go mainstream.
The other issue is the quality of skilled young people in the workforce. While Nigeria produces sharp minds, too many are trained on theory, not practice. Employers point to gaps in problem-solving, teamwork, and understanding the whole software construction cycle. This disconnect renders the talent unable to meet the demands of the global markets.
Another concern is regulation. Remote work and gig work brought an informal labour market that lacks protection. Being unprotected, Nigerian workers are left open to exploitation at the hands of employers who are based overseas, as they would exploit the absence of contracts, decent pay structure, or judicial redress.
Lastly, perception is still a barrier. Adverse Nigerian stereotypes may cause distant clients to shy away, even where the talents are great. As many Nigerian professionals attest daily, the overall story needs to change to reflect capability, consistency, and originality.
Strategies for Building a Future-Ready Workforce
To address these issues, we need a multifaceted approach. Initially, there is a need to emphasise practicable upskilling. We need a workforce that is capable of coding, cybersecurity, data analytics, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, beyond digital literacy.
Minister Bosun Tijani’s initiative, the Federal Government’s 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, is a laudable initiative, looking to build the largest inventory of trained tech talents in the world. However, more effort must be directed towards applied learning, through internships and industry-driven curricula, so that people are prepared to learn as well as be capable of delivering.
Second, we need to invest in remote work infrastructure. Access to affordable, reliable power and cheap broadband is a necessity, not a luxury, to join the digital economy.
Subscribing to Nigeria’s vision of achieving 70 percent high-speed broadband penetration by the year 2025 would need brave public-private partnerships, innovative financing, and vigorous rural connectivity initiatives.
Thirdly, policies and protections need to change. The government must establish protocols that legalise distant and gig work so workers can access benefits such as health insurance or pension contributions, as well as recourse against exploitation. It will not only protect people but also help improve Nigeria’s brand as the go-to source of international talent.
Fourth, the contribution of the private sector cannot be discounted. Quomodo Systems Africa, among other firms, is poised to bridge the gap between the office and the classroom, offering mentorship, incubation, and even work opportunities to young graduates through its Q-Intern program. Investing in pipelines, the private sector firms secure their own competitiveness while securing the expansion of the wider ecosystem.
And then, there is the diaspora. Nigerian professionals based in Silicon Valley, Berlin, or London can be mentors, investors, and partners to locally grown talents. Diaspora programmes would help fast-track the exchange of knowledge as well as global networks.
Nigeria does not need to reinvent the wheel. Countries like India and the Philippines provide valuable lessons that we can imbibe. India, through deliberate investment in skills and outsourcing policies, built an IT services export industry now worth over $245 billion. The Philippines transformed youth unemployment into mass employment in the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector, becoming a global hub for call centres and back-office operations.
Our country possesses the raw material to emulate and even exceed these prototypes. On the right track, the young labour force here shall propel not only outsourcing but innovation in fintech, healthtech, agritech, as well as green tech, so that Nigeria becomes the premier exporter of digital solutions as well as services.
Imagine a Nigeria where millions of young people work for global companies without leaving their homes, earning competitive wages, and contributing to both personal prosperity and national growth. Picture a Lagos where software services are being exported to Asia, a Kano where food security is improved through agritech inventions, and an Enugu where digital creatives offer services to Europe.
This future is possible. Aligning the education, infrastructure, policy, and investment sectors, Nigeria can harness its demographic dividend as the foundation of global competitiveness. We can shift the paradigm from being the consumer to the producer and exporter of digital solutions, reworking the place that we hold as part of the global economy.
The digital economy represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address unemployment, diversify the economy, and enable our youth. It will, however, not realise itself.
It requires concerted effort, consistent investments, and visionary leadership. It is our responsibility. We can either allow our young population to slip into resentment and untapped potential, or empower them to thrive within the digital economy, turning Nigeria into the global centre of talent. The globe is thirsty for the exact commodity Nigeria is richly endowed with. It is time to rise to the occasion.
Oluwole Asalu is the CEO of Quomodo Systems Africa and a leading advocate for digital transformation and AI-readiness across Africa.
