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NITDA’s Talent Development Initiative Woos Business Sweden
Developmental Regulations, one of the core mandates of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and a pillar in the National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS), has been identified as a major attraction of foreign partnership towards talent development by the Business Sweden.
Business Sweden is a platform for success in an increasingly purpose-driven world. It has a unique government and private sector mandate, that help international and Swedish companies to leverage their strengths and lay the foundation for green, inclusive, and digital growth – in Sweden and across global markets.
While welcoming the Swedish team to his office, Kashifu Inuwa, CCIE, the Director General of NITDA, was highly enthusiastic about the proposal made by the Deputy Ambassador of Sweden in Nigeria, Mr. Joran Bjallerstedt, and his team during a courtesy visit to NITDA Headquarters in Abuja.
The DG reaffirmed NITDA’s readiness to partner with the Business Sweden to explore the diverse avenues in promoting trade and entrepreneurship for the Nigerian teeming youths.
“With the Startup Act, Nigeria is positioning to thrive in the Information Technology ecosystem, and President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, is set to inaugurate the Council for the Startup Act, which is the apex organ for the implementation of the Nigerian Startup Act,” he noted.
Inuwa asserts that a technical working group committee is drafting the implementation framework for the Startup Act in collaboration with the private sector. The government is working on the Nigeria outsourcing strategy, which is going to focus on making Nigeria the preferred outsourcing destination of the world.
He further said that the National Digital Skills and Strategy, which is aimed at making Nigeria the global talent factory towards bridging the global talent gaps is in motion to connect various talents with jobs.
“We can supply Sweden with the right talent needed to develop your businesses because in the digital economy or in the world we are today, companies are as good as its next products or services,” he said.
The NITDA boss affirmed that Nigeria has the requisite talent required to nurture and train its citizen to fit into the best digital offerings the world has to offer because of the nation’s youthful population.
He also elaborated on NITDA’s function as a government regulatory agency, stating that regulations are meant to enable and not to stifle innovation.
“NITDA recently, launched the regulatory intelligence framework that creates awareness on happenings within the ecosystem and gathers intelligence on how to regulate processes which enables dynamism in our regulation formulation.’’
“Our regulations focus on achieving four objectives which are, to regulate market creation, to enable innovation, to regulate customer or consumer protection, and to regulate efficiency and effective service delivery,” he added.
He noted that some issues of concerns in Nigeria are waste management, transportation and logistics, financial inclusion, agriculture, and many more.
Inuwa further revealed that efforts are ongoing in building clusters for Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) to wedge against the lack of job opportunities for graduates. The Agency is into many other partnerships geared towards digital skill acquisition with MIT-REAP, Google, CISCO and others.
“In the same vein, we are sponsoring students for first degree, MSC and PhD on different courses, and currently in talks with the Universities in changing their curriculum to address the skill gap deficiencies among graduates,” he added.
He hinted that it has always been a collaborative effort in the ecosystem among other service providers in technology, communication companies, agriculture sector, extension workers, and even the input suppliers.
He then recommended his Special Assistant on Digital Transformation, Dr. Aminu Lawal, to be the contact person for all the initiatives identified to partner with Business Sweden on the three clusters, Business Process Outsourcing, Innovation Hubs, and Agriculture.
Dr. Aminu Lawal, while speaking on other strides of the Agency towards co-creating within the ecosystem, said that there have been several internal reforms in the Agency.
He mentioned that the Global Tech African Conference preliminary session would take place in Lagos in July 2023 while the main conference would be held on November 27, 2023.
Anthonia Adenaya, the Director General for Business Sweden West Africa, earlier said, “We work to promote relationships in Sweden and other countries in Africa and would love to develop innovation highway between Nigeria and Sweden, especially in areas that Nigeria wants to develop under the purview of NITDA”.
She commended NITDA’s efforts in enabling a formidable digital economy, particularly the recently assented Start-up Bill and added that NITDA’s objectives aligns with Business Sweden which is a powerhouse of innovation, sustainability, co-creation, and equality.
Anthonia agreed that there are lots of talents in Nigeria, especially when it comes to trade talent which her organisation is willing to export to Sweden. Adding that the proposed training format is project-specific, i.e., tailored to fit a particular company specification and requirements.
“We train students from the perspective and the vision of the company so that they are ready to be exported into the system,” she added.
She later disclosed that Business Sweden is in relationship with Ericson and have trained mechanics and drivers in Ghana. It equally has an MOU with France.
Union Bank of Nigeria has secured certification under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0.1, a global standard for protecting payment card data.
The certification took effect on August 11, 2026, confirming that the bank’s systems for storing, processing and transmitting customers’ credit and debit card information meet stringent international security requirements.
PCI DSS certification is designed to reduce the risk of payment card data breaches and financial fraud while strengthening customer confidence in electronic payment systems.
The assessment covered key areas of Union Bank’s operations, including network infrastructure, card issuance, ATM and POS transactions, payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, chargebacks, dispute resolution and retail banking.
Union Bank was assessed and certified under the Service Provider category.
The certification process lasted a full year and involved quarterly assessments, with support from departmental, business and functional heads across the bank. Digital security firm Digital Encode supported the process, while the final independent audit was conducted by CyberCube, an accredited Qualified Security Assessor.
Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, said the certification demonstrates the bank’s commitment to protecting customer information.
“The security of our customers’ information is central to everything we do at Union Bank. This certification reaffirms that our payment systems and processes meet a rigorous global standard, and it reflects the discipline of colleagues across the Bank who work every day to keep customer data safe.”
The renewal also ensures that Union Bank maintains continuous PCI DSS certification, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s requirement for banks to sustain compliance without interruption.
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
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