Experts at the National Digital Policy Dialogue convened by Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) have outlined key strategies for Nigeria to overtake South Africa and Kenya in the forthcoming Network Readiness Index (NRI).
Nigeria was ranked 103rd out of 127 economies assessed in 2025, placing the country 10th in Africa, behind Mauritius, which emerged as the continent’s top performer.
The Network Readiness Index is a global benchmark that assesses how countries leverage information and communication technology to drive economic growth, social progress and environmental sustainability.
Countries are evaluated across four pillars — People, Governance, Technology and Impact.
Speaking at the dialogue, Engineer Nasiru Aliyu Shinkafi, a certified IT professional from Galaxy Backbone, said Nigeria must urgently scale up its 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme to improve digital competitiveness.
According to him, “Moving into Africa’s top three to five and potentially overtaking South Africa and Kenya requires Nigeria to scale up the 3 Million Technical Talent programme aggressively with measurable outcomes in digital literacy.”
Shinkafi added that “Mauritius consistently leads Africa by a wide margin, outperforming expectations from its income levels, followed by South Africa and Kenya.”
He noted that despite Nigeria’s global ranking of 103rd out of 127 countries, the country still possesses strategic advantages.
“Although Nigeria ranked 103rd globally, its strength in NRI ratings revolves around its population and GDP per capita,” he said.
Highlighting areas requiring urgent action, Shinkafi stated: “On the technology pillar, Nigeria must accelerate broadband infrastructure rollout, expand subscriptions and leverage its domestic market. The country must also fully implement its AI strategy, improve regulatory quality and trust in cybersecurity and data protection, strengthen digital inclusion policies and close rural gaps.”
He further stressed the need for immediate improvements, saying, “In the short term, Nigeria must aim to improve its overall score by five to eight points to climb 10 to 20 positions.”
Shinkafi added that “Nigeria must also boost its ICT services to drive measurable economic impacts.”
In her presentation, Dr Hadiza Ali Umar of Bayero University, Kano, identified digital literacy as Nigeria’s weakest area in the ranking.
She said, “Nigeria’s weakest area in the rating is the significant gap in digital literacy and skills development among the people.”
Umar highlighted areas of comparative advantage, noting that “expanding telecom infrastructure, fintech innovation leadership and Nigeria’s young tech-savvy population remain key strengths to build upon.”
She, however, warned that “limited digital skills, persistent digital divide and internet access constraints — viewed as the biggest challenges — must be addressed through investment in digital education and expansion of broadband access.”
The CITAD Digital Policy Dialogue examined Nigeria’s digital transformation agenda and made recommendations aimed at achieving long-term impact and building an equitable digital future.
