In a bold move to transform Nigeria from a consumer of foreign technology into a global supplier of digital solutions, Vice President Kashim Shettima has launched the Connect NextGen Innovation Hackathon, a four-month programme designed to equip Nigerian youth with cutting-edge skills in artificial intelligence, 5G, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT) .
Speaking at the State House Conference Centre in Abuja on Wednesday, the Vice President, represented by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Hadejia, Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, framed the initiative as a direct continuation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's job creation agenda. "A brilliant line of code written in Abuja can power a system in Stockholm; a solution imagined in Kano can transform a farm in Kenya," Shettima declared .
The hackathon represents the operationalization phase of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Ericsson and the Nigerian Government in 2024. It targets young talents, startups, and university students, challenging them to build transformative solutions addressing national priorities such as food security, smart cities, and digital inclusion .
Peter Olusoji Ogundele, Country Manager of Ericsson Nigeria, explained that the initiative comprises two complementary streams: the AXN National Hackathon, designed to unlock youth creativity, and the AXN Educate Programme for Policymakers, tailored to enhance the digital competence of government officials for evidence-based policymaking .
Swedish Ambassador Anna Westerholm praised the partnership as a powerful illustration of public-private collaboration, noting that Nigeria's digital sector represents "one of the most dynamic and promising innovation ecosystems on the African continent" . The initiative builds on Nigeria's emergence as Africa's top hub for tech unicorns and global talent, aiming to deepen the country's demographic dividend by harnessing its youth population for the digital economy .
Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kingsley Tochukwu Udeh, pledged his ministry's full support for commercializing outcomes from the competition, research, and inventions, ensuring that the initiative generates tangible economic impact .
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