How job creation in Nigeria can translate to decent work

Nigeria’s workforce is overwhelmingly young, presenting a powerful demographic advantage. Nearly 70 percent of the population is under 30, positioning the country as one of the most dynamic labour markets globally.

This youth bulge is already driving innovation across industries and new forms of economic participation, from entrepreneurship and gig work to the rapid expansion of digital and creative industries. Across sectors, young Nigerians are not only seeking jobs but actively creating them, reshaping traditional employment pathways in the process.

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Positioning digital learning as a viable pathway to quality employment, therefore, requires a coordinated, multi-layered strategy. First, digital literacy must be mainstreamed across all levels of education, moving beyond isolated ICT courses to become a core component of everyday teaching and learning.

Second, infrastructure investments must be extended to underserved areas. Initiatives such as the government’s Broadband Alliance, which aims to deploy 125,000km of fibre-optic cable, represent a step in the right direction.

Enhancing productivity across the informal sector and broader business ecosystem

Given that the vast majority of Nigerians work in the informal economy, any meaningful effort to improve workforce quality must engage this sector directly while also strengthening the broader business ecosystem, including MSMEs and emerging creative and digital economies.

Beyond access to affordable finance, which has improved over the years through the growth of microfinance banks, digital banking and digital lending for small businesses. Young people, particularly women in hard-to-reach communities, still face significant barriers to credit due to gaps in digital and financial infrastructure. This limits their ability to scale enterprises, invest in productivity, or withstand economic shocks.

Evidence from the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (2025) shows that while 99 percent of workers with no formal education are engaged in informal employment, this figure drops significantly to 26.6 percent among those with post-secondary education.

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This underscores the importance of education and skills development as a critical pathway out of persistent informality.

Improving outcomes in the informal sector, particularly in emerging economies, requires targeted investment in business management capabilities, alongside formalisation pathways that communicate clear value to business owners rather than relying on coercive compliance.

This must be complemented by sector-specific standards, stronger business development services, expanded incubation and accelerator programmes, and access to mentorship, internships, and enterprise support systems that connect informal operators to more structured value chains.

These interventions are most effective when delivered through coordinated partnerships among government, private sector actors, and intermediary organisations already engaged in entrepreneurship and youth employment support.

This, in turn, offers a credible pathway for transitioning from subsistence “hustles” to sustainable livelihoods.

Glory Aiyegbeni & Lucky Oyakhire, Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning department, Jobberman