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Here’s How We Need to Think About Digital Skills in 2024
By Zuko Mdwaba, Salesforce Area VP / Africa Executive
It’s no secret that, in addition to a persistent youth unemployment crisis, Nigeria has an acute skills shortage. Some might view those two things as a paradox. In reality, however, they feed into each other. Without the requisite skills, many companies struggle to scale and grow, which would ease the unemployment crisis.
Photography for SAS in April 2017 by Jeremy Glyn.
There are few sectors where this skills shortage is felt more acutely than in the digital arena. In fact, a report released earlier this year found that more than 100 million young Nigerians lack the digital skills needed to take up good job opportunities
A good example of how big the shortage is can be seen in the software development space. At present, Nigeria is home to just 83 000 software developers. By contrast, the US state of California is home to more than 630 000 developers. Its population is just 18% as big as Nigeria’s. Of course, developers are just one slice of the digital skills pie. Other in-demand digital skills in Nigeria include cybersecurity, data analysis, and digital marketing.
But how can the country ensure that it builds those much-needed skills in a way that’s impactful and sustainable in the long term? One important step is to reframe how we think about digital skills development. It’s an approach which, among other things, means that the country will be better prepared for new technologies rather than reacting to them and which centres the whole person rather than focusing solely on a specific hard skill.
Embracing new tech
When it comes to embracing new technologies rather than fearing them, it’s hard to think of a more powerful example than artificial intelligence (AI). At the extreme ends of AI discourse, there are accelerationists, who believe that the rapid development of technologies in the field will benefit humanity and doomers, who take a far more pessimistic view on the future of AI and its implications for humanity.
In truth, much probably depends on how we choose to use the technology. For now, however, it’s important to remember that AI can be a significant enabler for digital workers and even create jobs. We know this because it’s already happening. In the programming space, for example, AI tools have helped developers program faster, be more productive, and even enjoy enhanced job satisfaction.
The same will likely be true across a broad spectrum of industries but only if people have the necessary skills to utilise AI effectively. As such, workers and businesses alike need to stop viewing AI as a threat, start thinking about how to use it to their advantage and build up their skills accordingly.
Focusing on the whole person
Getting people to the point where they can take this forward-looking approach to skills development is, however, not as simple as telling them to do so. And even if someone already has this attitude, you can’t just provide them with that specific skill. You also have to develop the whole person.
That means ensuring that skills development always happens within a relevant context. Within this context, people are equipped with more than technical capability but also given the support and resources to flourish in the environment where the acquired skills will be applied. Among the many benefits of this approach is that it means people will likely pick up future skills faster than they otherwise would have.
An important whole-person approach is the promotion of life-long learning. Here again, organisations cannot simply say they support life-long learning. They have to demonstrate that they do too. That means creating a supportive environment that encourages lifelong learning and learning agility as the foundation on which effective skills training and talent development can happen.
Understanding that skills development is a collective effort
Finally, it’s important to remember that skills development cannot be truly effective if it happens in isolation. Instead, organisations across all sectors must remember that they exist in an ecosystem and that real, transformative skills development can only happen when all the players in that ecosystem are pulling in the same direction.
It’s an approach which we’re confident will create tens of thousands of new jobs and generate billions of new dollars in business revenue. And the more players from across the industry who get involved the bigger the impact will be.
Act now or fall behind
Given the incredible need for skills development in Nigeria, along with the rapid pace of technological advancement, it’s clear that urgent action is needed. And if it’s not taken, the country risks falling behind and becoming uncompetitive. But it should also be clear that we need to be very careful about how we think about skills development in 2024. Ultimately, the idea isn’t to patch holes but to build a cohort of workers ready to face the future with full confidence.
MTN Group has begun rolling out MTN One TV, a new entertainment proposition designed to make digital video content more accessible, relevant, and flexible for customers across African markets.
Introduced in line with MTN’s Ambition 2030 strategy, MTN One TV brings together local storytelling, live channels, international programming, and market-specific viewing options tailored to how customers across the continent access and pay for digital entertainment.
The proposition is designed to give customers greater choice in how they watch content, with viewing models that may vary by market and can include free-to-view content, advertising-funded experiences, pay-as-you-watch access, and subscription offerings.
Depending on local availability, customers may also be able to pay through airtime, Mobile Money, and other locally supported payment methods, helping to reduce common barriers to streaming access.
Beyond enhancing customer experiences, MTN One TV creates new opportunities for African creators, broadcasters, advertisers, and ecosystem partners by helping connect content to wider audiences through MTN’s scale across connectivity, payments, and digital services.
By bringing together a broad mix of content experiences under a single proposition, MTN aims to support greater content discovery, broader audience reach, and sustainable growth across Africa’s digital entertainment ecosystem.
Anchored in MTN’s strategic platforms of Connectivity, Fintech, and Digital Infrastructure, MTN One TV forms part of the Group’s broader ambition to build digital experiences that create value for customers while enabling participation and growth across Africa’s digital economy.
“Entertainment is increasingly becoming an important gateway to digital participation,” said Selorm Adadevoh, MTN group chief commercial, strategy and transformation officer.
“Through MTN One TV, we are leveraging the scale of our connectivity, fintech, and digital capabilities to make relevant content more accessible while creating new opportunities for Africa’s creative and digital economies. This is aligned with our ambition to deliver digital solutions for Africa’s progress.”
MTN One TV is being introduced progressively across MTN markets through a phased rollout approach that reflects local market needs, existing services, and partnership opportunities.
Over time, MTN will bring together a combination of video capabilities, content partnerships, and customer experiences under the MTN One TV brand to create a more consistent and scalable entertainment proposition across its footprint.
Through MTN One TV, MTN continues to extend its role beyond connectivity by combining entertainment, payments, and digital services to deliver experiences tailored to the needs of African consumers.
The rollout supports MTN’s Ambition 2030 vision of leading digital solutions for Africa’s progress while expanding access to digital entertainment across the continent.
International Air Transport Association (IATA) has identified Nigeria as one of the most expensive countries in the world for airline operations, citing high taxes, charges and operational costs that continue to weigh heavily on local carriers.
IATA’s Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East, Kamil Al-Awadhi, disclosed this during the association’s Annual General Meeting held in Rio de Janeiro.
Al-Awadhi said that although Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, had been pursuing reforms aimed at improving the aviation sector, airlines operating in the country still faced enormous cost pressures.
According to him, the high-cost operating environment has continued to affect the profitability and competitiveness of Nigerian airlines, making it difficult for the industry to realise its full potential.
He noted that excessive taxes, regulatory charges and other operating expenses remained major obstacles to airline growth across the region, with Nigeria ranking among the most challenging markets from a cost perspective.
Al-Awadhi urged member states of the Economic Community of West African States to adopt a proposed 25 per cent reduction in aviation taxes and charges to ease the burden on airlines and passengers.
According to him, lowering taxes and charges would reduce airfares, stimulate passenger traffic and strengthen the competitiveness of carriers operating within West Africa.
He stressed that a more supportive policy environment was critical to unlocking the economic benefits of aviation, including increased trade, tourism and regional integration.
Industry stakeholders have consistently advocated lower taxes and regulatory fees, arguing that the current cost structure makes air travel less affordable and limits the growth of the sector.
IATA’s latest remarks add to calls for governments in West Africa to implement policies that will promote a more sustainable and competitive aviation industry across the region.
Broadcasting
NASENI Trains 50 Women in Kano on Renewable Energy Technologies Under She-Powers Initiative
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI), under the leadership of its Executive Vice Chairman/CEO, Khalil Suleiman Halilu, has trained 50 women in Kano State on inverter and battery technologies through its She-Powers Energy Initiative.
The three-day programme, held at the Technology Incubation Centre, Farm Centre, Kano which ended yesterday, was designed to equip participants with practical renewable energy skills, promote women-led enterprises, and enhance sustainable livelihoods.
The initiative forms part of NASENI’s broader commitment to empowering women, creating economic opportunities, and expanding participation in Nigeria’s growing clean energy sector. It also aligns with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by supporting job creation, entrepreneurship, and inclusive economic development.
Through targeted interventions such as the She-Powers Energy Initiative, NASENI continues to demonstrate its commitment to leveraging technology and innovation to improve lives and drive sustainable development across the country.
Photos: Participants at the She-Powers Energy Initiative training organised by the National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) held at the the Technology Incubation Centre, Farm Centre, Kano yesterday.
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