The Federal Government has secured more than N6.45 billion in new private-sector commitments to scale up its flagship 3 Million Technical Talent (3MTT) programme, aimed at equipping Nigerians with digital and technical skills.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Dr Bosun Tijani, announced the development on Thursday at the 3MTT National Impact Summit held at the State House Banquet Hall, Abuja.
According to documents presented at the event, IHS pledged N2.5 billion, MTN committed N2.95 billion, and Airtel offered N1 billion in fresh support. Tijani said the funding would boost training infrastructure, deepen community engagement, and expand access for young Nigerians pursuing technology careers.
Tijani credited the initiative’s rapid growth to strong public demand and President Bola Tinubu’s policy reforms in the digital economy sector. “Every agenda of his administration and all the reforms that he’s made are solely for the average Nigerian,” he said, noting that the summit also acknowledged the President’s backing of digital transformation efforts.
The minister highlighted several interventions that have strengthened investor confidence, including the National Data Protection Commission Act, the 2023 launch of 3MTT, the approval of a $2 billion, 90,000-kilometre fibre project, the designation of telecom infrastructure as critical national assets, and tariff adjustments for operators.
He also detailed earlier private-sector contributions: IHS contributed N1 billion at the programme’s launch and later invested N1.5 billion to rehabilitate a damaged tech park in Kano; MTN provided N3 billion for training, devices and data; and Airtel offered N1 billion for the 3MTT NextGen stream. In addition, global tech firms such as AWS, Google, Huawei, and Microsoft have provided non-cash support.
Tijani revealed that interest in the programme has been overwhelming, with over 1.8 million applications recorded within the first month from all states and local government areas. Applicants must register using NIN or BVN to ensure unique identification.
The rollout is being executed in phases: 30,000 trainees in the first phase starting December 2023; one million in the second phase, launched July 2024; and the final scale-up to three million Nigerians scheduled for next year.
Already, more than 15,000 participants from the first cohort have secured direct employment, many earning above N250,000 monthly. The government has activated 201 applied learning centres nationwide and engaged 583 learning partners and 37 community managers.
Tijani also emphasized job placement initiatives, noting that funding from the EU and UNDP through the Jubilee Fellows Programme has enabled companies to host interns at no cost.
Representing President Tinubu, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, said Nigeria’s aspiration to become a $1 trillion economy depends on sustained investment in digital skills. He noted that such skills are now critical across agriculture, healthcare, finance, manufacturing, education, and public service.
Launched in October 2023, the 3MTT programme aims to train three million Nigerians in fields such as software development, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and data science through a mix of online and in-person learning across all 36 states and the FCT.
