By Ali Elias
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board has graduated 180 youths from its NDI Digitization Training Programme, underscoring its sustained investment in digital capacity building and youth empowerment across the country.
The graduation ceremony, held in Lagos on April 10, 2026, marked the close-out of the South-West phase of the initiative, which brought together participants from across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones for an intensive eight-week training programme.
The NDI Digitization Training Programme, an initiative of the Board, is designed to equip young Nigerians with practical digital competencies, entrepreneurial knowledge, and workplace readiness skills in response to the demands of a rapidly evolving global economy.
Representing the Board at the ceremony, Jonathan Njoku led a delegation of NCDMB officials and presented certificates to the graduating trainees.
Speaking at the event, Njoku reaffirmed the Board’s commitment to human capital development as a cornerstone of its local content mandate, noting that the programme reflects a deliberate strategy to build a digitally competent workforce capable of driving innovation and economic growth.
Participants at the ceremony expressed appreciation to the Board for the opportunity, describing the training as transformative. Several graduates said they had significantly improved their digital literacy and acquired foundational knowledge in computer science, alongside practical skills in business management and entrepreneurship.
They also highlighted gains in communication, customer relations, and professional engagement, noting that these competencies are critical for both employment and enterprise development.
“The programme has broadened our knowledge and equipped us with skills that are directly applicable in today’s workplace,” one participant said, reflecting a common sentiment among the graduates.
Industry observers note that such interventions are increasingly vital as Nigeria seeks to position its youthful population for competitiveness in the digital economy, particularly amid growing demand for tech-enabled skills across sectors.
The Board reiterated that the training forms part of its broader strategy to deepen local content development through targeted investments in people, adding that similar programmes will be expanded to other regions.
According to NCDMB, scaling up such initiatives will ensure that more Nigerian youths are equipped with relevant digital and entrepreneurial capabilities, thereby strengthening the nation’s talent pool and supporting long-term economic resilience.