Nigeria’s fast-growing digital economy is facing a major threat from a deepening shortage of skilled technology professionals, with industry experts warning that as much as $11 billion in annual sector revenue could be at risk.
The widening talent gap also poses a challenge to the Federal Government’s ambition to raise the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 21 per cent by 2027.
Although the ICT sector’s output has continued to expand rapidly, fresh data and industry assessments show that the supply of job-ready digital talent is failing to keep pace with demand. Analysts say this structural imbalance could undermine productivity, discourage investment and limit value creation across the digital ecosystem.
Speaking at a one-day public hearing organised by the Senate and House of Representatives Joint Committees on ICT and Cybersecurity on the proposed National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill 2025, the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, said the sector’s contribution to GDP has risen significantly in recent years.
According to him, ICT, which previously accounted for about 16 per cent of GDP, is now approaching 19 per cent, with the government targeting 21 per cent by 2027 as part of its broader ambition to build a $1 trillion economy.
Official figures reflect the sector’s rapid expansion. In nominal terms, ICT grew by 31.63 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2025, outpacing most other sectors of the economy. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, output rose by 8.35 per cent, pushing ICT’s share of nominal GDP to 10.29 per cent.
However, experts caution that this impressive growth trajectory is now exposing serious capacity constraints. While digital payments, telecommunications services and platform-based businesses continue to scale, the number of skilled professionals required to design, secure, maintain and expand these systems remains inadequate.
Telecom success, talent shortfall
Nigeria’s telecommunications revolution remains one of the country’s standout economic success stories. Since the sector’s liberalisation in 2001, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) estimates that telecoms have generated more than 500,000 jobs, expanded connectivity and boosted productivity across multiple sectors.
Despite these gains, the NCC acknowledges that the industry is “heavily plagued” by a shortage of skilled manpower. A 2024 assessment by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) revealed a significant mismatch between employer requirements and workforce capabilities. While firms need advanced digital skills from roughly 30 per cent of their staff, only about 11 per cent of employees currently possess such competencies.
Further highlighting the scale of the challenge, data from the Digital Bridge Institute show that as of early 2025, only about seven per cent of Nigerians aged between 15 and 24 have market-relevant ICT skills needed to thrive in a modern digital economy.
