The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and 251 other organisations have recorded 2,769,512 digital literacy training achievements across Nigeria in the last three years, representing 5.54 per cent of the Federal Government’s target of reaching 50 million beneficiaries by 2027.
The figure was disclosed through the National Digital Literacy Dashboard unveiled at the 2026 National Digital Literacy Workshop in Abuja.
The dashboard shows that 252 organisations are reporting their digital literacy interventions across all 36 states, the Federal Capital Territory and the country’s 774 local government areas.
The initiative, spearheaded by NITDA under its Digital Literacy for All (DL4ALL) programme, seeks to expand access to digital skills through partnerships with government institutions, technology companies, educational institutions, non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders.
Speaking at the workshop, NITDA Director-General, Kashifu Inuwa, said Nigeria’s greatest resource was its human capital, stressing that deliberate investment in digital capabilities was essential to improving productivity and creating economic opportunities.
He described digital literacy as a fundamental skill, comparable to reading, writing and numeracy, particularly as technology and artificial intelligence continue to transform how people learn, work, communicate, trade and access public services.
“Our ambition is not to turn every Nigerian into an IT professional. Our ambition is to make every Nigerian digitally capable,” Inuwa said.
He explained that the objective was to enable Nigerians to use digital tools to improve their existing occupations, noting that traders could use technology to manage business records and receive digital payments, while farmers could access weather forecasts and market information.
Similarly, he said teachers could enhance classroom learning, while public servants could leverage digital tools to deliver more efficient services.
According to the dashboard, young people below the age of 35 account for 2,092,697 of the reported training achievements, while informal-sector workers account for 1,609,183.
Female participation stands at 32.9 per cent, while 65,767 beneficiaries are from rural communities and 17,156 are persons with disabilities.
The figures underscore the scale of ongoing interventions but also highlight the need to strengthen inclusion, particularly among women, rural residents and persons with disabilities.
The dashboard identifies companies as the largest category of reporting organisations, accounting for 151 of the 252 participants, or 59.9 per cent. Government institutions account for 43 organisations, while non-governmental organisations account for 34. Cooperatives, community organisations and other entities make up the remainder.
Among the leading contributors, Cisco recorded 1,073,604 training achievements, followed by NITDA with 960,424 and Meta Platforms Inc. with 333,816.
Other contributors include Imo Digital City Limited, the Sokoto State Ministry of Innovation and Digital Economy, the Bureau for ICT and Digital Economy, technology agencies in Jigawa, Kaduna and Zamfara states, and the Centre for Information Technology and Development.
Inuwa said the dashboard would improve coordination among stakeholders, identify underserved communities and ensure that investments in digital skills development produced measurable outcomes.
He noted that the absence of coordinated reporting had sometimes resulted in organisations implementing similar interventions in the same communities while other areas remained underserved.
“At NITDA, we see our role as an ecosystem orchestrator,” he said, explaining that the agency’s responsibility extended beyond implementing its own programmes to establishing standards, partnerships and coordination mechanisms that would maximise the collective impact of stakeholders.
The Director-General, however, cautioned against interpreting the reported training achievements as the number of unique Nigerians who had attained a defined level of digital proficiency.
He said the figures must be complemented by credible assessments of participants’ acquired competencies, their application of the skills and the benefits generated for their lives and communities.
According to him, NITDA intends to measure progress beyond training attendance by assessing whether beneficiaries can communicate more effectively, protect themselves against online fraud, access information confidently, and improve their businesses, jobs and livelihoods.
The National Digital Literacy Framework, established in 2023, provides the foundation for the initiative. It identifies six competence areas: device and software operations; information and data literacy; communication and collaboration; digital content creation; digital safety; and problem-solving.
NITDA launched the DL4ALL programme in 2024 to translate the framework into practical interventions across formal education, workforce development and the informal sector.
Its collaboration with the National Youth Service Corps has also enabled Digital Literacy Champions to take training into markets and communities. Programme records indicate that the informal-sector initiative has engaged more than 20,000 trainers and over 803,000 trainees.
The National Digital Literacy Framework targets 70 per cent digital literacy by 2027 and 95 per cent by 2030, in line with the Federal Government’s broader ambition to build a $1 trillion economy by 2030.
Earlier, speakers at the workshop urged state governments, technology companies, educational institutions, development partners and civil society organisations to register their interventions and submit credible data to the dashboard.
They stressed that achieving the national digital literacy targets required collective responsibility and coordinated action among all stakeholders.
