Inclusive Digital Skills Training For Economic Development

- By Olayemi Adigun and Oluwafemi Awopegba

Executive Summary

In Nigeria, women are underrepresented in ICT. One of the reasons for this is because there are not enough ICT-inclined training opportunities available for them hence, they lack the digital skills to contribute substantially to the economy. Despite that, evidence from the Tech4Dev Women Techsters monthly Open Day reveals that more females are interested in acquiring digital skills and technology know-how to gain employment and start up a business to contribute to national economic progression.

The National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020–2030 aims to transform Nigeria into a leading digital economy and build a nation where digital innovation and entrepreneurship are used to create value and prosperity for all. This policy brief focuses on two pillars of the seven pillars under the NDEPS policy; pillar two which focuses on literacy and digital skills and pillar eight on digital societies and emerging technologies. This paper recommends that digital policies and strategies like the NDEPS should focus on:

• Increasing collaboration with technology-focused non-profits like Tech4Dev and investing in digital skill training inclusion programs to increase participation of women in the labour market to meet the aim of NDEPS by 2030.
• Establishing clear channels though which digital skill support will be provided for marginalised and gendered communities and persons in tandem with measurable milestones to track progress

Background

Information, Communication and Technology (ICT) has become a key factor in determining the development, growth and progression of a country. In Nigeria, the Information Communication and Technology (ICT) sector is the fastest-growing sector with a 10% annual growth over the last decade (Abubakar 2022).

ICT was the largest contributor to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) during the coronavirus pandemic at 12.45% in Q4 (International Trade Administration Report, 2021) (ITA 2021) and by Q2, 2021 contributed 17.72%, the largest contribution to Nigeria’s GDP (National Bureau of Statistics 2022).

The National Digital Economy Policy and Strategy (NDEPS) 2020–2030 (Adeluyi 2020) was formulated with the goal of transforming Nigeria to be a leading digital economy and to be known for using digital innovation and entrepreneurship to create value and prosperity for its citizens. It was drafted with eight pillars; two of which (pillar two and pillar seven) attempt to focus on digital literacy and digital skill training for Nigerians:

• Pillar two — Digital Literacy and Skills
• Pillar seven — Digital Society and Emerging Technology

SWOTS Analysis

Table 1 below presents a SWOTS (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the NDEPS 2020–2030. It is an assessment of the strategy document for Nigeria’s digital economy for the next ten years from four critical perspectives.

Although the NDEPS recognises digital literacy as part of one of the basic literacies requirements and the need to provide digital training for Nigerians, the document fails to establish a clear strategy for the achievement of digital skills for economic growth and employment, especially for underserved and marginalised individuals and communities, thus posing a threat for the overall achievement of the policy goals.

Table 1: SWOT Analysis showing pros and cons of the pillar 2 and 7 of the NDEPS Policy

Nigeria is recognised as the largest digital market and economy in Africa, but the employment and economic opportunities ICT creates has gotten the least influx of women and girls in both primary and secondary tech sector (Olatokun, 2008).

WEF, PwC (2020) report shows that 78% of women have shown interest in learning a tech skill and this has the ability to triple revenue for the country moving it from a low-income country to a middle-income country by 2030.

Research has also shown that one of the most prominent issues with driving economic growth is the inclusion of women in the workforce (Ramachandran, Omakwu 2019; Ramachandran et al. 2019; News 2013; Chetty 2013).

However, with the economy becoming more digital and the wide disparity in digital skills and technology know-how between males and females, achieving the goal of the National Economic Policy by 2030 seem farfetched.

Findings from the Women Techsters Open Day

Technology-focused non-profit development organisations like Tech4Dev develop and implement inclusive digital literacy and skills training programs to close the digital gender gap and advance the economy. Under the Women Techsters Open Day, a program that enlightens women on how to leverage technology for economic advancement, female participation has continually increased, recording 2,702 Nigerian female participation in 2021 and 2,360 from January to June 2022.

21.14% of female participants are in full-time jobs, 14.03% in part-time jobs and 12.88% are self-employed. While about 48.05% of participants are already in employment, their participation signifies an interest in staying economically relevant by leveraging digital skill programs.

The 51.95% unemployed/student female participants also denotes the willingness and interest of females to contribute to economic development by acquiring digital skills. Therefore, digital inclusion programs like the Women Techsters Open Day increase the chances of women gaining employment in the projected 28.4 million digital skills-related jobs by 2030 predicted by the International Finance Cooperation (IFC 2021).

Conclusion

In conclusion, Nigeria’s digital economy holds huge potential for the development and growth of the nation. However, the potential may not be realised without the inclusion of important marginalised and under-represented groups. Findings from the Women Techsters Open Day reveal that women, one of such under-represented groups, are economically relevant and have high interest in making more economic contributions through digital upskilling. Therefore, the NDEPS needs to establish a clear strategy for the achievement of digital skills for economic growth and employment, especially for women.

References

• Abubakar, S., 2022. Available at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/01/ict-sector-contributes-12-45-to-nigerias-gdp-danbatta/.
• Adeluyi, O., 2020. NATIONAL DIGITAL ECONOMY POLICY AND STRATEGY (NDEPS): 2020–2030. Abuja.
• Chetty, L.-R., 2013. Available at: https://www.fairobserver.com/region/africa/importance-technology-economic-and-social-development/.
• ITA, 2021. Nigeria — Information and Communications Technology [online]. International Trade Administration. Available at: https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/nigeria-information-and-communications-technology [Accessed 21 July 2022].
• National Bureau of Statistics, 2022. National Gross Domestic Product Q2 2021 [online]. Abuja . Available at: https://nigerianstat.gov.ng/elibrary/read/1241137 [Accessed 8 May 2022].
• News, W., 2013. Available at: https://www.borgenmagazine.com/the-impact-of-women-on-economic-growth/.
• Ramachandran, V. et al., 2019. The New Economy of Africa: Opportunities for Nigeria’s Emerging Technology Sector [online]. Available at: https://www.cgdev.org/sites/default/files/new-economy-africa-opportunities-nigerias-emerging-technology-sector.pdf.
• Ramachandran, V., Omakwu, B., 2019. Nigeria’s Tech Sector May Be Booming, but Where Are the Women? | Center for Global Development | Ideas to Action [online]. Center for Global Development . Available at: https://www.cgdev.org/blog/nigerias-tech-sector-may-be-booming-where-are-women [Accessed 18 April 2022].
• WEF, PwC, 2020. Unlocking Technology for the Global Goals [online]. Geneva. Available at: https://www3.weforum.org/docs/Unlocking_Technology_for_the_Global_Goals.pdf [Accessed 21 April 2022].