Tech4Dev founder says Nigeria already has the talent to compete globally, but the challenge is connecting skilled workers to international demand.

Founder and President of Tech4Dev, Joel Ogunsola, has said the Federal Government’s Hire from Nigeria campaign must move beyond publicity to solve three barriers preventing Nigerian talent from fully benefiting from the global economy: discoverability, trust and access.

Ogunsola made the remarks in Abuja on Monday at the launch of the campaign, which seeks to connect Nigerian professionals, skilled workers and service providers with international employers and markets while enabling them to work from Nigeria.

He said Nigeria had effectively been exporting talent for decades, with Nigerian professionals and skilled workers contributing to economies around the world, but the country had not sufficiently captured the economic value generated by that talent.

According to Ogunsola, Hire from Nigeria is intended to connect the country’s existing talent with global demand and turn that connection into jobs, business growth and foreign exchange earnings.

“Nigeria has the talent, the world has the demand,” he said, describing the task of the campaign as bringing the two together.

Hire from Nigeria targets discoverability and trust

Ogunsola said the problem Nigeria faced was not necessarily a shortage of talent but the difficulty international employers could have in finding, assessing and accessing Nigerian professionals.

He illustrated the challenge with the example of a young Nigerian graduate who had the skills, qualifications and equipment to work but lacked a reliable way to be discovered by potential employers.

“What she, however, does not have is a way to be found by employers,” he said.

Ogunsola said this was central to the campaign’s purpose, arguing that the barriers were “discoverability, trust, and global access”.

He outlined three objectives for Hire from Nigeria: making Nigerian talent easier to discover, easier to trust and easier to hire.

The campaign, he said, was intended to cover a broad range of Nigerian workers, including graduates, technical workers, digital professionals, creatives and other skilled service providers who can meet international standards.

“If a Nigerian can deliver, in particular skill sets in global standard, we intend to take them to work,” Ogunsola said.

The approach is designed to complement the Federal Government’s wider talent-export strategy, which seeks to position Nigeria as a source of skilled workers and digitally delivered services for global markets.

The campaign is being implemented through a partnership involving the National Talent Export Programme, Tech4Dev, the Federal Ministries of Industry, Trade and Investment, Education, Information and National Orientation, the Bank of Industry’s iDICE programme and other public and private-sector partners.

Hire from Nigeria seeks economic value from talent

Ogunsola said the initiative should be viewed as an economic and employment strategy rather than another government event.

He urged the media to tell the story as one about jobs, young people, women, foreign exchange and Nigeria’s ability to compete in the global services economy.

“Not as another launch, not as another government-endorsed event, but as a national economic story, a job story, a youth story, a woman opportunity story, a foreign exchange story,” he said.

He said the campaign would help redirect attention towards the value Nigerian workers could create for international employers while allowing them to remain in the country.

Ogunsola also linked the initiative to Nigeria’s reputation abroad, saying the country needed to take greater ownership of the story being told about its workforce.

He argued that Nigeria should increasingly be presented internationally not as a country merely seeking opportunities, but as one with a skilled and credible workforce that is open for business.

Ogunsola said the campaign’s success would ultimately depend on whether Nigerian talent could be connected to actual employers and opportunities.

“When talent meets demand, something wonderful happens: families thrive, businesses grow, our foreign exchange comes in, confidence increases, and Nigeria begins to convert demographic strength into real economic power,” he said.

The campaign is expected to receive an international push during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in September, as Nigeria seeks to showcase its talent and services capabilities to global employers and investors.

For Ogunsola, the objective is straightforward: ensure that the Nigerian talent already being produced can be found, trusted and ultimately hired by the global market.