Nigeria has taken another step in its push to build a stronger digital economy with the launch of the Nigeria AI Scaling Hub (NAISH), a new platform designed to help artificial intelligence solutions developed by Nigerians find wider use across public institutions.
The initiative was unveiled in Abuja by the Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, who said the hub is meant to close the gap between government institutions and local innovators by helping proven AI solutions move beyond pilot projects into large-scale deployment.
Speaking at the launch, Tijani said the government's ambition is not limited to developing AI applications. The bigger goal, he explained, is to build an environment where Nigerian technology companies can grow, compete internationally and create solutions that respond to the country's needs.
He said Nigeria's fintech industry offers a useful example. According to him, its success was not built by talented entrepreneurs alone but through years of collaboration involving government, regulators, financial institutions, universities and development partners. The same model, he said, can help unlock the full potential of artificial intelligence.
To support that vision, the government also introduced the SAID Challenge, a programme that will identify mature AI solutions developed by Nigerian innovators and connect them with public institutions seeking answers to challenges in healthcare, education, agriculture and public administration.
Tijani said innovators selected for the programme will receive free access to the national AI computing infrastructure during the first phase, making it less expensive to train AI models and develop new products.
The programme is supported by a three-year, $7.5 million commitment from the Gates Foundation, which will provide technical assistance, computing infrastructure, policy support and strategic partnerships to help scale AI adoption across the country.
Olayinka David-West, Dean of Lagos Business School and Director of NAISH, said the hub will help government agencies identify problems that are ready for AI solutions while giving startups a practical route to deploy their innovations on a larger scale.
She added that access to local AI computing infrastructure would reduce reliance on foreign cloud service providers and lower the cost of building AI products in Nigeria.
Also speaking at the event, the Gates Foundation's Nigeria Country Director, Uche Amaonwu, said the real measure of artificial intelligence should be the difference it makes in people's lives rather than the sophistication of the technology.
He noted that many global AI models do not adequately reflect African languages, realities and operating environments, making locally developed systems increasingly important.
Amaonwu said artificial intelligence has the potential to improve learning through personalised education, strengthen maternal healthcare and expand access to agricultural finance using data-driven credit assessment.
With the launch of NAISH and the SAID Challenge, Nigeria is creating new opportunities for local innovators to work more closely with public institutions while developing AI solutions that address the country's priorities.
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