Nigeria has reached more than 2.7 million people through its digital literacy initiative, achieving 5.54 per cent of its target of reaching 50 million Nigerians by 2027, according to a digital literacy dashboard summary.
The summary was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja. It shows that the initiative has covered all 774 local government areas (LGAs) and 14,664 communities across the country, with young people below the age of 35 accounting for more than 2 million beneficiaries.
The dashboard shows that 252 organisations are actively reporting their contributions to the initiative across the country.
Young people below 35 years account for 2,092,697 beneficiaries, while women represent 32.9 per cent of participants. The report also indicates that 1,609,183 informal sector workers have benefited from the initiative.
The dashboard further records 65,767 rural beneficiaries and 17,156 persons with disabilities among those reached.
A breakdown of participating organisations shows that private companies account for the largest share, with 151 organisations, representing 59.9 per cent of active reporting entities.
Government institutions account for 43 organisations, representing 17.1 per cent, while non-governmental organisations (NGOs) account for 34, or 13.5 per cent.
Other participating entities comprise 14 organisations, while cooperatives account for six and community organisations four.
According to the dashboard, Cisco is the leading contributor to the national digital literacy initiative, with 1,073,604 Nigerians trained.
The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) ranks second, with 960,424 beneficiaries, while Meta Platforms Inc. ranks third, with 333,816.
Other leading contributors include Imo Digital City Ltd., with 72,896 beneficiaries; the Ministry of Innovation and Digital Economy, Sokoto, with 58,573; and the Bureau for ICT and Digital Economy, with 56,582.
The Jigawa State Information Technology and Digital Economy Agency recorded 52,814 beneficiaries, while the Kaduna State Government’s Kaduna AGILE Project trained 45,758 people.
The Zamfara Information Technology Development Agency recorded 24,756 beneficiaries, while the Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) trained 22,563 Nigerians.
The figures highlight the contributions of government institutions, private companies and civil society organisations to expanding access to digital literacy across Nigeria.
However, with the initiative having reached 5.54 per cent of its target of 50 million people by 2027, the figures indicate that substantial further progress is needed to reach the goal.
