Shettima: Connect NextGen Hackathon’ll Transform Nigeria to Global Supplier of AI, 5G Solutions

• Launches Nigeria-Ericsson skill acquisition programme to empower youth, scale up digital, tech job creation

Deji Elumoye in Abuja

Vice President Kashim Shettima has said the Connect NextGen Innovation Hackathon will transform Nigeria to a global supplier of digital solutions, while creating jobs in the technology sector.

The four-month programme is one of the key operationalisation phases of the Ericsson and Nigerian Government’s Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on digitally upskilling Nigerian youths, policymakers, and public sector decision-makers in modern technologies.

Shettima said the programme will build on Nigeria’s rise as Africa’s top hub for unicorns and global tech talent.

He spoke on Wednesday while launching the initiative at State House Conference Centre, in Abuja.

The vice president, who was represented by Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia, said the programme aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s job creation agenda by harnessing the country’s youth population for the digital economy.

According to him, “President Bola Tinubu has placed job creation at the very top of his priorities. So, this hackathon is not an isolated event; it is a continuation of a national strategy.

“The _Connect NextGen Innovation Hackathon_ is designed to deepen this reality—to make Nigeria a supplier of solutions to the world. 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 explained that the hackathon will empower young talents, start-ups, and university students to build transformative solutions using 5G, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, IoT, and sustainable technologies.

He said, “The current wave of the Industrial Revolution—powered by 5G, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, IoT and sustainable technologies—is not a tide we can afford to watch from the shore. History is unkind to nations that choose the backseat in moments of transformation.”

The vice president observed that Nigeria’s greatest asset lay in its human capital rather than natural resources, stating that the country’s demographic dividend tilts decisively in favour of youth.

On Ericsson’s role in the initiative, Shettima said the partnership had reinforced the tech giant’s “position as a strategic enabler of Nigeria’s digital transformation goals, providing real-world applications of 5G, IoT platforms, edge computing and AI in networks”.

He stated that Ericsson’s commitment to sustainability, energy-efficient networks, and technology for good aligned with Nigeria’s national ambitions.

Earlier, in his remarks, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Kingsley Udeh, explained that the launch was an indication that the agreements, MOUs, and expressions of interest would not remain in the books but also find expression in activities and investments running into billions of dollars.

He pledged the support of the ministry to hackathon in various ways, including commercialisation, competition, research, and invention outcomes.

In her remarks, Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, Anna Westerholm, described Nigeria as a country of talent, creativity, and ambition.

Westerholm stated that Nigeria’s digital sector was one of the most dynamic and promising innovation ecosystems on the African continent.

She explained that the launch was a powerful illustration of what public-private collaboration could achieve, stressing, “Through the Hackathon and the Educate Program, Ericsson, a private company proudly rooted in Sweden, is partnering with Nigerian institutions to equip young people, students and civil servants with the skills needed to navigate and lead in the fast-changing global economy.”

She added, ‘’Nigeria’s partnership with Ericsson demonstrates how the Swedish private sector contributes to national development priorities by combining technological leadership with long-term commitment and strong local collaboration. We are proud that the Swedish technology and Swedish values of openness and partnership and trust contribute to Nigeria’s development ambitions.”

Country Manager of Ericsson Nigeria, Mr Olusoji Ogundele, said the initiatives represented a concrete step in delivering on the MoU signed in 2024 between Ericsson and the federal government to boost innovation, skills development, and the digital economy.

According to him, Ericsson’s over 40 years of operations in Nigeria and nearly 150 years globally have helped build trusted networks from fixed telephony and GSM to broadband, 5G, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of Things.

He explained that the AXN National Hackathon was designed to unlock the creativity of Nigerian youths by equipping them with world-class tools to solve real national challenges in areas, such as food security, smart cities, and digital inclusion.

On the AXN Educate Programme for Policymakers, Ogundele said it was tailored to enhance the digital competence of government officials, enabling evidence-based policymaking and stronger governance in the digital economy.

The Ericsson Nigeria boss reaffirmed the company’s commitment to partnering with the President Bola Tinubu administration to advance its digital transformation agenda, empower youths and policymakers, and build a digital economy that left no one behind.

Special Assistant to the President on ICT Policy, Dr. Salihu Ibrahim Dasuki, said Nigeria and Sweden had been partners, and had sustained the private sector for quite some time.

Dasuki said the launch was also in line with Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, as it will not only be a training but also offer employment to the youth.

Special Assistant to the President on Project Support, Suhdah Ahmed, said the launch showed how innovation ecosystems were built by connecting knowledge, capital, policy, and market.