Carbon Economy offers Nigeria new path beyond oil, Carbon AI founder says

Nigeria’s emerging carbon economy could evolve into a multi-billion-dollar source of jobs, investment and export earnings, offering the country a new growth engine beyond crude oil, according to Debola Ibiyode, founder and chief executive officer of Carbon AI.

Speaking on TVC’s Wake Up Nigeria programme, Ibiyode said climate technology and carbon markets are creating economic opportunities that many Nigerians still view primarily through an environmental lens. She argued that the transition to a low-carbon economy should be seen as an industrial and employment strategy rather than simply a climate agenda.

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The comments come as governments and businesses worldwide increase investments in carbon reduction projects, renewable energy and sustainability-linked initiatives, creating a fast-growing global market for carbon credits and climate-related technologies.

“If you have been used to making money from fuel, carbon initiatives are going to disrupt that space. But this is a multi-billion-dollar industry. It isn’t just about saying don’t use oil; there is an incredible economic advantage to it,” Ibiyode said.

She said Nigeria is particularly well-positioned to benefit because of its large agricultural sector, which generates significant volumes of waste that can be converted into cleaner energy products such as ethanol.

According to her, agricultural byproducts from livestock, corn, rice and wheat can support local refining industries, creating jobs across farming communities while reducing dependence on fossil fuels. Such investments could also generate alternative export revenues at a time when Nigeria is seeking to diversify away from crude oil earnings.

The push for a carbon economy comes as Africa’s largest oil producer faces growing pressure to build new sources of foreign exchange, improve energy access and create jobs for its rapidly expanding youth population.

Ibiyode pointed to recent initiatives such as the Lagos State Carbon Credit Registry and increasing engagement by state governments with energy stakeholders as signs that policymakers are beginning to recognize the economic potential of carbon markets.

Beyond climate opportunities, she said artificial intelligence could play a major role in improving productivity across Nigeria’s public and private sectors.

Citing a recent study conducted by Carbon AI, Ibiyode said effective AI adoption could deliver productivity gains of between 10 percent and 15 percent at institutional and governance levels.

She warned, however, that many organisations are approaching AI incorrectly by treating it as a replacement for human workers rather than a tool that enhances productivity.

“Companies are adopting AI wrongly when they think it can replace people. It’s like when Excel came out and people thought it would replace accountants. It didn’t; accountants just became faster and better,” she said.

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Ibiyode also cautioned against what she described as AI washing, where companies exaggerate their use of artificial intelligence without creating meaningful business value.

She urged Nigeria to move beyond being a consumer of foreign technologies and focus on building indigenous AI solutions tailored to local challenges in sectors such as agriculture, healthcare and climate technology.

To achieve that goal, she called for stronger collaboration between government and large corporations to fund digital literacy programmes and structured AI adoption initiatives.

For Nigeria, the convergence of climate technology and artificial intelligence could present a rare opportunity to address creating jobs at scale while building new industries capable of generating sustainable economic growth beyond oil.